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AMERICAN MEN OF ENERGY 

Benjamin Franklin. By Edward Robins. 
12°. Illustrated .... I1.50 

Henry Knox. By Noah Brooks. 12°. Illus- 
trated |i-5o 

John James Audubon. Edited by his widow, 
Lucy Audubon. 12°. Illustrated . ^1.50 

Israel Putnam. By William Farrand Liv- 
ingston. 12°. Illustrated . «(?^|i.35 
By mail 1.50 



G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, New York & London 



Hmerican /IDen of Energy? 



Ov Tf^xrj ouSe oJSeta ou5e (TTOat cvSk 6 Twf 
ai//u;^to>i' KOCTjLio^ at TroAet? eto'ti', aAA* ai'fipe? 
auTO»s tiSoTe? dappeiv. 

AILIOS ARISTEIDES ( 129-189 A.D.). 

NEITHER WALLS, THEATRES, PORCHES, NOR SENSE- 
LESS EQUIPAGE, MAKE STATES, BUT MEN WHO ARE ABLE 
TO RELY UPON THEMSELVES. 

TRANS. Br ARTHUR WILLIAMS AUSTIN, 



ISRAEL PUTNAM 



k 




GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM. 

FROM THE PA,NT>NG BY H. ,. THOMPSON, IN THE STATE HOUSE, HARTFORD, CONN. 



/ 



ITsrael Putnam 

Pioneer, Ranger, and Major-General 



1718-1790 



BY / 

WILLIAM FARRAND LIVINGSTON 



G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

NEW YORK & LONDON 

Zbc IRntckcrbocftcr press 

1901 



4'u n 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS. 

Two Cufita Received 

NOV. 9 1901 


Copyright entry 


CLASS COXXC No. 

COPY a 



Copyright, 1901 

BY 

WILLIAM FARRAND LIVINGSTON 



TTbe Iknicherbocfier press, l^ew ]|?och 



J 



To 

MY ALMA MATER 

WILLIAMS COLLEGE 

FOUNDED BY THE GALLANT SOLDIER 

COLONEL EPHRAIM WILLIAMS 

UNDER WHOSE COMMAND 

ISRAEL PUTNAM 

MARCHED INTO HIS FIRST BATTLE 



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PREFACE 

ORTUNATEivY I have had access to 
some original sources of information re- 
lating to Israel Putnam which have 
never before been used in any formal 
presentation of his life. These docu- 
ments include his official reports as a 
ranger or scout in the French and Indian War ; the 
diary which he kept on his voyage to the South ; his 
General Orders in the Havana Campaign and the 
American Revolution; and letters by his own hand or 
dictated by him at different periods of his life. His 
holograph writings, characterised as thej' are by a 
greater number of literary defects than was common 
even in those days when men spelled incorrectly, punc- 
tuated carelessly, and used capitals with lawless fre- 
quency, plainly show that he had little training or 
inclination for composition. His was the education by 
an adventurous and purposeful life. It was this that 
made him a notable figure among American heroes. 
New light is thrown upon Putnam's career not only by 
the material of which he was the author, but also by 
the journals, letters, and other writings of many of his 
comrades and associates. These contemporary docu- 
ments give us a truer and even more thrilling impres- 
sion of his daring deeds than the exaggerated versions 



VI Preface 

of his exploits that have appeared in many of the later 
accounts of his life. Numerous facts, not generally 
known, which relate to Putnam before the American 
Revolution and which are presented in this biography, 
emphasise a period of his life that had a very impor- 
tant relation to his subsequent military service. The 
reputation for indomitable courage, ready resourceful- 
ness, practical eflSciency, sterling integrity, and warm- 
hearted companionableness that he gained in the 
colonial wars was of invaluable help in the first years 
of the American Revolution, for it inspired the patriots 
under his leadership with glowing enthusiasm and bold 
confidence in their struggle for freedom. 

In the preparation of this book I have received 
favours from many persons, among whom have been 
Mr. Herbert Putnam, of Washington, D. C, Librarian 
of Congress; Mr. Albert C. Bates, of Hartford, Conn., 
Librarian of the Connecticut Historical Society ; Rev. 
Alfred P. Putnam, D.D., of Salem, Mass. ; Mr. 
Eben Putnam, of Burlington, Vt. ; Mrs. Julia A. 
Philbrick, of Dan vers, Mass. ; and Mrs. Mary Put- 
nam Bosworth, of New York City, I have appreci- 
ated especially the kindness of the Hon. Leonard 
D. Carver, State Librarian of Maine, who has afforded 
me every facility in the use of the valuable collection of 
historical works in the Maine State Library. I wish to 
acknowledge also the courtesies of Mr. Ernest W. 
Emery, Assistant Librarian of Maine, Col. E. C. Ste- 
vens, Superintendent of Public Buildings of Maine, 
and Miss Annie F. Page, Librarian of the Hubbard 
Library, Hallowell, Maine, 

Augusta, Maine, July, 1901. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. — In Old Salem Village (1718-1740) . . . i 

II. — The Connecticut Pioneer (i 740-1 754) . . 9 

III.— The Call TO Arms (1755) 17 

IV. — The Ranger (1755-1756) 27 

V. — Guarding the Forts (1756) .... 44 

VI.— Savage Warfare (1757-1758) .... 54 

VII.— The Attack on Ticonderoga (1758) . . 74 

VIII.— A Prisoner {1758) 85 

IX. — Three More Campaigns (1759-1761) . . 102 

X. — The Capture oE Havana (1 762- 1 763) . .117 

XI. — In Bradstreet's Expedition (1764) . . 129 

XII. — The Honoured Citizen (1765-1772) . . . 147 

XIII. — A Military Adventurer (1772-1773). . . 162 

XIV. — An Ardent Patriot (1773-1774) . . . 173 

XV. — War's Alarms (1774-1775) 181 

XVI. — A Bold Leader (1775) 196 

XVII. — The Battle of bunker Hill (1775) . . .214 

XVIII. — Besieging Boston (1775-1776) .... 243 

XIX. — Fortifying New York (1776) .... 273 

XX. — The Battle of Long Island (1776) . . . 292 

XXI. — A Forced Retreat (1776) 305 

XXII. — At Philadelphia and Princeton (i 776-1 777). 329 
XXIII. — The Command of the Hudson Highlands 

(1777-1778) 344 



Contents 



Vlll 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXIV. — In the Recruiting Service (1778-1779) . . 377 

XXV. — Last YEARS (1779-1790) 400 

Appendix I. — Portraits oe Israei^ Putnam , . 421 
" II. — The Command in the Batti,e oe 

Bunker Hii,Iv 423 




COAT-OF-ARMS OF THE 
PUTNAM FAMILY. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Gen^RAI, Tsraei< Putnam. . . . Frontispiece 

From the painting by H. I. Thompson, in the State House, 
Hartford, Conn. 

CoaT-oe-Arms of the Putnam Famii^y . Tailpiece viii 
Oi^D Putnam House, Danvers, Mass. (showing south 

side), Birthpi^ace oe Generai. Israel Putnam . 2 

Tabi,et Pi,aced December 17, 1897, at Danvers, Mass. 4 

Chamber in which Israei, Putnam was Born . . 6 
Meeting-House oe 1701, in Old Salem Village, now 
Danvers, Mass., in which Israel Putnam was 

Baptised on February 2, 17 18 8 

WoLE Den, Pomfret, Conn 12 

Putnam Narrating the Capture of the Wolf . . 14 

From a drawing by T. F. Hoppin. 

Israel Putnam's Powder Horn 52 

Tree to which Tradition says Putnam was Tied 
after he was captured by the indians in 
August, 1758 9° 

Fac-simile of a Letter Written by General Israel 

Putnam no 

Putnam's Sign 156 

From original tavern sign now kept in rooms of Connecti- 
cut Historical Society, Hartford, Conn. 

Fac-Simile of Page from Putnam's Diary of the 

Southern Expedition 164 

Israel Putnam's Plow 192 

News from Lexington : Putnam Leaving the Plow 194 

From the painting by Alonzo Chappel. 



X Illustrations 



PAGE 

STATUE OF ISRAEi, Putnam 210 

J. Q. A. Ward, sculptor 

Generai. Israei, Putnam 218 

From the painting by Alonzo Chappel. 

Major-General, Israei. Putnam 234 

After the painting by Col. J. Trumbull. 

Battle of Bunker Hill 236 

From the painting by Col. J. Trumbull. 

General Israel Putnam 240 

From the painting by J. Wilkinson. 

General Putnam's Oath of Allegiance . . . 248 
Fac-simile of Letter Written by General Israel 

Putnam 250 

View from Fort Putnam, West Point . . . 370 

Fort Putnam, West Point 374 

Main Entrance to Putnam Memorial Park, Red- 
ding, Conn. 384 

A Restored Cabin in Putnam Memorial Park, Red- 
ding, Conn. 386 

Putnam's Hill, Greenwich, Conn. Scene of Israel 

Putnam's Ride 392 

General Israel Putnam's Saddle .... 394 

Putnam Memorial Park, Redding, Conn. Monu- 
ment AND Fire-places 396 

Putnam's Duel with the British Officer . . . 406 

House in Brooklyn, Conn., where General Israel 

Putnam Died 412 

General Putnam's Monument 414 

Slab taken from Israel Putnam's Grave in Brook- 
lyn, Conn. Now Kept in State House, Hart- 
ford, Conn. 416 

Statue of General Israel Putnam, at Brooklyn, 

Conn 418 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

PRINCIPAI, WORKS CITED OR REFERRED TO AS 
AUTHORITIES 



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Bancroft, George, History of the United States. The Au- 
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Botta, Charles, History of the War of the Independence of 
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Boynton, E. C, History of West Point. New York: 1863. 

Bradstreet's Campaign, Regimental Orderly Book of. June- 
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Brooks, Noah, Life of Maj. -Gen. Henry Knox. In "Ameri- 
can Men of Energy" Series. New York: 1900. 

Brunswick and Hessian Officers, Letters of. Translated by 
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Bunker Hill Monument Association, Proceedings of. Boston. 

Burr, Aaron. (See James Parton.) 

Carrington, H. B., Battles of the American Revolution. 2 
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xii Bibliography 

Clinton, George, Public Papers of . Vol.11. New York: 1900. 
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Cone, Mary, Life of Rufus Putnam. Cleveland: 1886. 
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1858. 
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Hoadley. Vols. X.-XV. Hartford: 1877-1890. 
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Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 

Year Book of, for i8g§-g6. (See Jonathan Trumbull.) 
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Sparks. 4 vols. Boston: 1853. 
Cutter, William, Life of Israel Putnam. New York: 1S47. 
Drake, Francis S., Life and Correspondence of Ala j. -Gen. 

Henry Knox. Boston: 1873. 
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Boston. New and Revised Edition. Boston: 1899. 
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DwiGHT, Timothy, Travels in New England and New York. 

New Haven: 1821. 
Earle, Alice Morse, Customs and Fashions in Old New 

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Entick, John, General History of Late War in America. 

London: 1764. 
Essex Institute Historical Collections. Salem. 
Fellows, John, The Veil Removed. New York: 1843. 
Fiske, John, Th^ American Revolution. 2 vols. Boston: 



Bibliography xiii 

FiSKE, John, Article on " Israel Putnam" in Appleton's 
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Gordon, Alexander, Anecdotes of the Revolutionary War 
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Gordon, William, History of the Rise, Progress, and Estab- 
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Gorton, John, General Biographical Dictionary. 4 vols. 
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Greene, G. W., Life of Major-General Nathanael Greene. 3 
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Grosvenor, L., The Life and Character of Alaj. -General Put- 
nam. An address delivered at a meeting of the de- 
scendants of Maj. -General Israel Putnam, at Putnam, 
Conn., Oct. 25, 1855. Boston: 1855. 

Halstead, Murat, The Story of Cuba. Boston: 1898. 

Hamilton, Alexander, Works of. Edited by J. C. Hamilton. 
Vol. I. New York: 1850. 

Hanson, J. W., History of Danvers, Alass. Danvers: 1848. 

Harrison, F. G., Biographical Sketches of Pre-eminent Ameri- 
cans. "Israel Putnam" in Vol. I. Boston: 1892. 

Hart, G. E., The Fall of New France. New York: 1S88. 

Hazard, Samvel, Cuba with Pen and Pencil. Hartford: 187 1. 

Hazewell, C. C, Article on " The Conquest of Cuba" in 
Atlantic Monthly, Oct., 1863. 

Headley, J. T. , Washington and his Generals. New York: 1865. 

Heath, Maj.-Gen. William, Memoirs of. Written by himself. 
Boston: 1798. 

Heitman, F. B., Historical Register of Officers of the Con- 
tinental Army during the War of the Revolution. Wash- 
ington: 1893. 



xlv Bibliography 

Hill, George Canning, Life of Gen. Israel Putnam. Boston: 
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HiNMAN, R. R., Historical collection of the part sustained 
by Connecticut during the war of the Revolution, from 
official records. Hartford: 1842. 

Historical Magazine, and Notes and Queries Concerning the 
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by Henry B. Dawson. Morrisania, N. Y. 

HoLLiSTER, G. H., History of Connecticut. 2 vols. 2d 
edition. Hartford: 1857. 

Holmes, Abiel, Annals of America. 2 vols. Cambridge: 
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Humphreys, David, Col., An Essay on the Life of the Honour- 
able Major-General Israel Putnam, addressed to the State 
Society of the Cincinnati in Connecticut. Hartford: 
1788. 

Humphreys, David, Col., An Essay on the Life of the Honour- 
able Major-General Israel Putnam. With notes and ad- 
ditions. With an Appendix containing an Historical 
and Topographical Sketch of Bunker Hill Battle by S. 
Swett. Boston: 1818. 

Humphreys, David, The Miscellaneous Works of. New York: 
1804. 

Hunt, D., History of Pomfret, Conn. Hartford: 1841. 

Irving, Washington, The Life of George Washington. 5 vols. 
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Jameson, J. F., Dictionary of United States History. Boston: 
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Johnson, William, Sir. (See W. L. Stone.) 

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Bibliography xv 

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1835- 
National Portrait Gallery of Eminent Americans with Bio- 
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XVI Bibliography 

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ISRAEL PUTNAM 



ISRAEL PUTNAM 



CHAPTER I 

IN OLD SAIvEM VIIvIyAGE 




1718-174O 

N the upper chamber of a colonial home- 
stead at the foot of Hathorne Hill in 
Salem Village, now Danvers, Massa- 
chusetts, there was born, January 7, 
17 18, the twelfth child of Joseph and 
Elizabeth (Porter) Putnam. These 
Puritan parents, who in their calendar knew no such 
festival as Candlemas, happened to choose it as the 
date for the baptism of their infant son. So on the sec- 
ond of February, — the ceremonial day across the ocean 
for candles to be ablaze on altars and in processions — 
the babe, nearly a month old, was taken to the bare 
little meeting-house on Watch-House Hill ; and there, 
at his baptism by the Rev. Peter Clark, he was given 
the name of Israel after his mother's father, Israel 
Porter. 

The paternal great-grandfather of little Israel had 



2 Israel Putnam [1718- 

been one of the original settlers of Salem Village. This 
ancestor, John Putnam, who belonged to the ancient 
family in England of which George Puttenham, the 
author of the Arte of English Pocsie, was a distinguished 
member, had emigrated, with his wife Priscilla and 
children, from Aston Abbotts, Buckinghamshire. He 
made his new home, in America, on a grant of land 
which he received as early as 1641 in the northern part 
of the territory included in the town of Salem. He be- 
came a prosperous farmer and, at his death in 1662, left 
to his three sons an estate which, together with the 
property acquired by themselves, made them the 
largest taxpayers in the community. These Putnams 
— Thomas, Nathaniel, and John — were men of energy, 
thrift, and uprightness, and held important offices in 
town, military, and parish affairs. Thomas, whose wife, 
Ann Holyoke, died in 1665, married in the following 
year, Mary Veren, widow of Nathaniel Veren, a wealthy 
merchant of Salem. To Joseph, his son by this second 
wife, Thomas Putnam bequeathed the house * which 
he had built in 1648 at the foot of Hathorne Hill. 
Here the young man, who became Israel's father, 
brought his bride, Elizabeth Porter, in 1690. Two 
years later, when the witchcraft delusion was at its 
height, Joseph Putnam did everything to show his dis- 
approval of the course which the Rev. Samuel Parris 
and the principal men in Salem Village were pursuing.f 



* This house, which is still standing, has been inherited suc- 
cessively by descendants of Thomas Putnam. Twice at least — 
once about 1744, and again in 1831, — it has been enlarged and 
remodelled. In 1897, "The Israel Putnam Chapter" of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze tablet 
upon the house to mark it as the birthplace of Israel Putnam. 

t Upham, Salon Witchcraft. 



I740] In Old Salem Village 3 

lu the excitement of the time, no ties of kinship or re- 
ligion could protect a person who had censured his 
pastor and had dared to sympathise with persons ac- 
cused or condemned as witches. Not only was dis- 
favour expressed towards Joseph by his half-brothers, 
Sergeant Thomas Putnam and Deacon Kdward Putnam, 
but the bitterness of feeling, the rancour, the horror, of 
the superstitious folk vented itself upon him so that 
his life was imperilled. For six months, until the 
witchcraft days were ended, he kept his firelock loaded 
and within ready reach and his swiftest horse always 
saddled in the stable, in order to defend himself and 
escape at a moment's warning, if his enemies, some of 
them his own relatives, attempted to arrest him. 
Warm sympathy for all persons wrongfully accused, 
ready generosity, and indomitable courage, these 
strong elements of character were the birthright of 
Joseph Putnam's son 

On his mother's side, also, Israel Putnam came of 
sterling stock. Elizabeth Putnam was the grand- 
daughter of John Porter, " Farmer Porter," as he was 
called, a man of " good repute for piety, honesty, and 
estate," who had emigrated from England and settled 
in Salem Village about the same time as the first Put- 
nams.* His son Israel — the grandfather after whom 
Israel Putnam was named — married Elizabeth Hath- 
orne, daughter of one of the most influential men in 
the colony. This was William Hathorne, who came to 
America from Wiltshire, England, in 1630, and settled 
first in Dorchester, Massachusetts, but soon afterwards 
removed to Salem, which had granted him large tracts 
of land as an inducement for him to live there, the 



■J. W. Porter, Genealogy of Porter Family. 



4 Israel Putnam [1718- 

inhabitants of the town regarding such a citizen as a 
' ' public benefit. ' ' Among the ancestors of Israel Put- 
nam there is no more striking personage than this 
maternal great-grandfather, whom Nathaniel Haw- 
thorne, also a lineal descendant (he preferred to spell 
the family name with the 7i'), pictures, in writing of 
old Salem, as the " grav^e, bearded, sable-cloaked, and 
steeple-crowned progenitor, who came so early, with 
his Bible and his sword, and trod the unworn street 
with such a statelj^ port, and made so large a figure as 
a man of war and peace." William Hathorne was a 
soldier, legislator, judge ; he was a leader in old Salem 
and had all the Puritan traits. 

It was in the place so closely associated with the 
story of his ancestors in America that the first part of 
the boyhood of Israel Putnam was spent. Of the 
thirteen children who were born to Joseph and Eliza- 
beth Putnam, eleven were living at the time of their 
father's death. Israel, the youngest but one, was then 
only five years old. Three of his sisters, Mary, Eliza- 
beth, and Sarah, were alread}' married, and Rachel's 
wedding daj' was this same year, 1723. William, the 
eldest son, was twenty-three 3'ears of age. The 
children at home, besides Israel, were Anne, David, 
Eunice, Huldah, and little Mehitable, whose ages 
ranged from eighteen to three years.* In the will 
which Joseph Putnam made a short time before his 
death he provided for his wife, bequeathed money to 
all his daughters, and landed property to his sons. 
William's share of the estate was the " Old Farm." 
The inheritance of David and Israel included the home- 
stead. The widowed mother was to have for her own 
support and that of the children under age, the use of 

* Eben Putnam, History of Putnam Family. 



i74oj In Old Salem Village 5 

the property of David and Israel until these sons 
came into full possession of their inheritance. At that 
time they were to pay her " yearly the sum of Ten 
Pounds each in Payable money, in ye whole Twenty 
Pounds. ' ' She was ' ' also to have a Room or two ' ' in 
the homestead. But widow Elizabeth was married, in 
1727, to Captain Thomas Perley, of Boxford, Massa- 
chusetts. David was almost of age and could assume 
the care of the homestead. The younger children 
went with their mother to the home of their step- 
father, and it was there that Israel, who was now ten 
years of age, lived until he was old enough to take 
charge of the portion of the farm which his father left 
to him. Meanwhile he frequently visited his brothers 
and the relatives at Salem Village. 

Israel was an active, robust youth. Books were few 
and school terms short and so in a sense he was turned 
loose upon nature, — and nature can teach boys won- 
derful things. He loved the out-of-door life, for that 
was his element, and the sports with his companions 
were an outburst of the healthy natural impulse to run, 
to race, to leap, to turn handsprings, to wrestle, to feel 
no restraint of exuberant spirits. In the athletic con- 
tests with his young friends, Israel was the champion 
and at all times he was a favourite playmate. 

As for fearlessness, this vigorous, healthy boy seems 
to have been infused with it. There is the story of 
his climbing out so far into a tree one day when he was 
hunting birds' nests that the bough broke. A lower 
branch caught him as he fell, and he hung by his 
clothes, head downwards, his hands wildly beating the 
air for something to grasp and his feet vainly strug- 
gling for a resting-place. His companions saw no way 
to help him and continued to stand looking up at him 



6 Israel Putnam [1718- 

from the foot of the tree, but Israel shouted to one of 
them, who had a gun, to break the branch by sending 
a bullet into it. The boy hesitated from lack of con- 
fidence in his own skill as a marksman, but Israel 
persisted in taking the risk of being hit rather than to 
remain longer in his predicament. So the gun was 
fired with the happy result of freeing him from his 
mid-air position. Down he came, and luckily none of 
his bones were broken by the fall. The next day, not- 
withstanding his bruises, he ventured again into the 
tree and succeeded in getting the coveted nest. 

Israel was a lad of self-respecting spirit. The fol- 
lowing anecdote is told by Colonel David Humphreys 
about this country boy, who bore ridicule from a city 
youth until insulted pride considered patience no 
longer a virtue: 

"The first time he went to Boston, he was insulted for his 
rusticity by a boy of twice his size and age ; after bearing the 
sarcasms until his patience was worn out, he challenged, en- 
gaged, and vanquished his unmannerly antagonist to the great 
diversion of a crowd of spectators." 

Young Putnam early developed a chivalrous nature, 
for he came very near having a similar muscular en- 
counter in the vicinity of his own home with a boy who 
had been sneering at and deriding a neighbour's 
daughter for no other reason than that her parents 
were poor. Israel resented stich unfeeling behaviour 
and was about to teach the offending school-fellow a 
summary lesson in manners when the coward made a 
retreat. 

Several years before the boy-farmer became of age 
he was fully able to do the work of a man, and 
seems to have taken considerable pride in keeping pace 



I740] In Old Salem Village 7 

with the men. Sometimes he had no difficulty in ex- 
celling them. He had a decided inclination for this 
agricultural life. There was an opportunity for his 
daring as well as his strength, and we have the story 
of his taming a vicious bull. Having put on spurs, he 
caught the animal in an open field and leaped astride 
his back. There he clung, riding furiously around the 
pasture, and then on into a swamp until the bull was 
utterly subdued.* 

One other anecdote is told, relating to Putnam at 
this period. He was called in by a neighbour to help 
in whipping a refractory negro. The coloured man's 
stubbornness, however, had been caused in part by the 
hot-tempered treatment which he had received from 
his master. While the latter was trying to hold 
" Cudge " so that he could be tied for the lashing, 
Putnam deftly slipped the noose over them both and, 
having pinioned them thus, drew them up in the barn 
by means of the rope, one end of which had been 
thrown over a beam. There he left them struggling 
aloft while he went off to enjoy his joke before he 
should release them. The affair ended much better 
than might have been expected, for the negro was 
amused, and the master, although at first very angry 
at Putnam, was convinced, after all, that the good 
humour into which the black man was put was more 
effective than a dozen floggings. 

While he was still under age, Putnam practically as- 
sumed the charge of the Salem Village farm with his 
brother David. A portion of the estate was definitely 
set apart as Israel's share in 1738, in his twenty-first 
year, and there he built a house for a home of his own 
in a field near his birthplace. 

* Hanson, History of Danvers, Mass. 



8 Israel Putnam [1718-40 

About four miles away in the south-west part of 
Salem Village and near the boundary line which sep- 
arated the town from L,ynn, lived Israel's sweetheart, 
Hannah Pope. She was the daughter of Joseph and 
Mehitable Pope, and her first ancestors in America, 
like those of her lover, had been among the earliest 
settlers of the town.* On July 19, 1739, in the Pope 
homestead, Israel Putnam and Hannah Pope were 
married. The young husband took his wife of eight- 
een years of age to the house which he had just built 
upon his farm and there they began housekeeping. 

There, also, their firs*: child was born. He was bap- 
tised on the eighth day of June, 1740, and was given 
the name of Israel after his father. 



* C. H. Pope, History of Pope Family. 





MEETINQ-HOUSE OF 1701, IN OLD SALEM VILLAGE, NOW 
DANVERS, MASS., IN WHICH ISRAEL PUTNAM WAS 
BAPTISED ON FEBRUARY 2, 1718. 




CHAPTER II 

THE CONNECTICUT PIONEER 



I 740- I 754 




ITHIN two years after building his 
house upon the share of the farm 
which he had inherited, Putnam began 
to make plans to remove from his na- 
tive town to another colony. Reports 
had reached him of the value of lands 
in the eastern part of Connecticut for cultivation. 
Families from Salem, Ivyun, and other towns of Massa- 
chusetts Bay had left the farms which had been tilled 
for several generations, and established homes in the 
neighbouring colony. The stories which came back of 
the prosperity of these pioneers made many young 
men, whose sires and grandsires had lived in one spot, 
ambitious to seek their fortunes in the new region. 

It was with money obtained by the sale of land in 
Salem Village, that Putnam was able to buy a farm in 
Connecticut. The old records show that for seven dif- 
ferent portions of his inheritance which he sold to his 
brother David and other persons about 1740, he re- 
ceived ^1920. His first purchase of land in Connecti- 
cut was made in partnership with his brother-in-law, 
Joseph Pope, who like himselfwas twenty-one years old. 

9 



lo Israel Putnam [1740- 

The transaction occurred March 15, 1739, with Gov- 
ernor Jonathan Belcher, of Boston, from whom the 
young men obtained 514^^ acres, for the sum of ;i^2572 
los. — at the rate of ^"5 an acre — payable in bills of 
credit on the province of Massachusetts. They gave 
bond and mortgage for the payment of this amount. 
The tract of land was situated in a district then known 
as " Mortlake," which twelve years later was formally 
annexed to the town of Pomfret by the General As- 
sembly of Connecticut and which, in 1786, became a 
part of the town of Brooklyn. The present boundary 
line between Pomfret and Brooklyn passes through the 
land which Israel Putnam and Joseph Pope jointly 
bought of Governor Belcher. These young men were 
practically pioneers of the region, for the history of the 
Mortlake district shows that a large part of it was in 
its primitive condition at the time of their purchase. 

Putnam may have made a special journey to Con- 
necticut in 1739, but he did not take his wife and baby 
there before the summer or autumn of 1740.''^ The dis- 
tance was more than seventy-five miles. In those days 
travelling was slow and tedious. Putnam's first work 
on his new possessions was to build a small house f 
and clear as much land as possible for cultivation. In- 
deed, from the very beginning of his Connecticut life, 
he applied himself so industriously and energetically 



* The date usually given is 1739, but the fact that his first 
child was born in Salem Village in 1740, and was baptised in 
June of that year in the same town would indicate that Putnam 
did not remove his family to Connecticut before 1740. 

t The site of this house is now known by some foundation 
stones ; and for many years after Putnam's death it was also 
marked by a pear tree which he planted and a well which he 
dug. 



1754] The Connecticut Pioneer n 

to work, that he was lunisually prosperous. Within 
two years he had not only bought out Joseph Pope's 
share of the property, but had paid all indebtedness to 
Governor Belcher, who released the mortgage and gave 
a quitclaim to Putnam on June 13, 1741. Part of the 
money, which was used in securing this full title to the 
farm, came to Putnam from the sale of remaining por- 
tions of his inheritance in Salem Village. His Con- 
necticut estate yielded him good returns for the labour 
which he vigorously spent upon it with the assistance 
of his negro servant. The farm was advantageously 
situated. A part of the land was level and the rest 
gently sloping. The soil was fertile and readily culti- 
vated. Besides obtaining timber for farm buildings, 
enclosing his fields with stone fences, sowing and reap- 
ing, caring for his live stock, Putnam took much 
interest in planting and grafting fruit trees, and intro- 
duced several new varieties, especially the winter apple, 
" Roxbury Russet," which he brought with him from 
Salem. 

Putnam had been living upon his farm two or more 
years when an incident occurred which was destined to 
be always closely as.sociated with his name. This was 
the wolf-hunt in the winter of 1742-43. A she-wolf 
caused Putnam and some of the other settlers great 
loss by preying upon their sheepfolds. She had re- 
peatedly eluded the hunters, although they were suc- 
cessful in killing most of her young. She frequently 
returned from the woods in the west and once barely 
escaped from a steel trap by tearing her paw from her 
claws which were caught in it. One night when prowl- 
ing over Putnam's farm, she killed seventy of his 
sheep and goats, and lacerated manj^ of the lambs and 
kids. In this exigency he and five Pomfret men ar- 



12 Israel Putnam [1740- 

ranged a continuous pursuit by agreeing to hunt alter- 
nately in pairs. Fortunately a light snow had fallen 
and the course of the wolf could be easily traced. The 
tracks showed one foot to be shorter than the other 
paws. This was proof that the animal was the same 
which had previously lost some of her claws in the trap. 
On reaching the Connecticut River, the hunters found 
that the wolf had turned in the opposite direction. 
Following the trail back towards Pomfret and travel- 
ling all night, they arrived- within about three miles of 
Putnam's farmhouse at ten o'clock in the morning, 
when John Sharp, a lad of seventeen years of age, who 
had outstripped the other pursuers, discovered the den 
into which the wolf had been driv^en by the blood- 
hounds. The news of the location of her lair spread 
rapidly, and many persons, armed with guns and sup- 
plied with material for smoking her out, hastened to 
the place, which was among the granite boulders on 
the side of a steep, craggy hill. 

The whole day was spent by Putnam and his neigh- 
bours in attempting to dislodge the animal, but the 
dogs — one of them Putnam's own hound — which were 
sent into the den returned frightened and badly 
wounded and would not go in again. Straw and sul- 
phur were burned within the entrance, but without 
compelling the wolf to quit her hiding-place. Twelve 
unsuccessful hours passed away. It was already ten 
o'clock at night, yet Putnam felt the importance of 
continuing the efforts in the emergency. His negro 
servant being unwilling to enter the den and attempt 
to shoot the wolf, Putnam himself, notwithstanding 
the remonstrances of his neighbours against so perilous 
a venture, made ready to undertake it. 

He took ofif his coat and waistcoat : then he tied a 



1754] The Connecticut Pioneer 13 

long rcpe around his legs in order that he could be 
pulled back by it when he kicked it as a signal ; he 
lighted the torch which he had improvised from some 
strips of birch bark and, holding it in his hand, 
crawled into the cave. The entrance was about two 
feet square and very slippery on account of the ice. 
The den descended obliquely fifteen feet, then ran hori- 
zontally about ten feet more and ascended gradually 
sixteen feet to the end of the opening. It was not more 
than a yard wide in any part and it was so low over- 
head that in no place could a person raise himself from 
his hands and knees. 

Crawling slowly down to the level part and continu- 
ing until he reached the gradual ascent, Putnam saw 
the fiery eyes of the wolf as she crouched at the end of 
the dark cave, gnashing her teeth and growling at him. 
He gave the signal which he had arranged, but the 
excited people, hearing the savage sound and thinking 
that he had been attacked, dragged him out with such 
solicitous but ill-judged energy that his shirt was 
stripped over his head and his skin severely scratched. 
He prepared himself to enter again, this time taking 
his gun, which he had loaded with nine buckshot. 
Holding it in one hand and a torch in the other, he 
advanced farther than before into the den and found 
the wolf even fiercer, howling, rolling her eyes, snap- 
ping her teeth, and dropping her head between her 
legs. He fired at her just as she was evidently about 
to spring upon him. Bei«g instantly pulled out, he re- 
freshed himself and waited for the smoke to disappear 
out of the den. He then made a third venture. When 
he approached the wolf this time he heard nothing from 
her and, touching her nose with his torch, found that 
she was dead. He grasped her ears, kicked the rope 



14 Israel Putnam [1740- 

and was drawn out, dragging his victim into the pre- 
sence of the astonished and exultant people. Up the 
ragged and icy face of the hill and through the wild 
woodland the wolf was carried to a house a mile dis- 
tant and suspended from a beam into which an iron 
spike had been driven. Then at that midnight hour a 
sort of " wolf jubilee " was held and, for several suc- 
ceeding days, people came from different directions to 
see the animal. 

The exploit won at once for Putnam a local reputa- 
tion for great bravery. Afterwards, when he became 
famous as a hero in the French and Indian War and 
the American Revolution, the story of the wolf-hunt 
was universally told to illustrate his characteristic dar- 
ing, and it gave him the sobriquet of " Old Wolf Put- 
nam " during his military career. It is an interesting 
coincidence that the crest of the coat-of-arms belonging 
to the ancient family of Puttenham, and which is borne 
by the American branch, whose most distinguished 
member is the wolf-slayer, should be a wolf's head. 

The story of Putnam and the wolf has had a special 
fascination as an American household tale. It was a 
favourite selection in the old reading-books. How 
many generations of boys have keenly enjoyed the 
anecdote of the bold deed ! 

But some serious narrators of the wolf-hunt, tempted 
by poetic license, have exaggerated the details. In- 
deed, the exploit has been told and retold by different 
writers with such variations that there has often been 
a wide departure from the facts. On the other hand, 
instead of exaggerations, there have been some at- 
tempts to discredit the adventure. We have, however, 
sufficient evidence for the stout-hearted deed, and we 
know that Putnam himself used to tell the story. 






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scrc*fe^^-^v' \a( ^ 



1754] The Connecticut Pioneer 15 

Judge Samuel Putnam,* in describing a visit which he 
once made to the hero, relates that Putnam took him 
to the place and showed him how he followed the wolf 
into the den and shot it. Colonel David Humphreys, 
who also heard Putnam's own account, realised the 
importance of giving us the facts, " because they con- 
tain a display of character ; and because they have been 
erroneousl}^ repeated in several European publications, 
and very much mutilated in the History of Connecticut 
[satirical history by Rev. Samuel Peters, published in 
1781], a work as replete with falsehood as destitute of 
genius." 

The wolf-hunt has been often used as a subject for 
pictures, and some old engravings of it are very quaint. 
It suggested the device for a tavern sign when Gideon 
Putnam, nephew of Israel Putnam, built, in 1802, the 
first hotel at Saratoga Springs, New York. This old 
sign, which is still in existence, is a very curious re- 
presentation of Putnam being pulled out of the den, 
dragging the wolf after him. Relic hunters have had 
peculiar interest in the exploit. Many years ago some 
of them exhibited in Boston a torch, made of birch- 
bark, which attracted much attention on account of the 
claim that it was the original one with which Putnam 
lighted his way into the den. Tradition says that the 
musket which was used to kill the wolf was carried 
by the hero through the French and Indian War, but 
soon afterwards was accidentally lost overboard while 
he was crossing a river in a boat. 

The wolf den continues to be one of the most inter- 
esting spots in picturesque Pomfret, and is annually 
visited by many patriot pilgrims. 



* Letter to Colonel Perley Putnam, dated July 16, 1834. 



1 6 Israel Putnam [1740-1754] 

Putnam made a journey to his old home in Salem 
Village in the latter part of 1743. His brother David, 
now thirty-six years old, was becoming one of the most 
influential citizens in town, parish, and military ajBfairs. 
He had won considerable reputation as a dashing cav- 
alry officer. He rode the " best horse in the pro- 
vince," and was called " the lion-hearted Lieutenant 
of the King's troops." At the time that Israel visited 
him, David was planning to enlarge the homestead, 
and the two brothers must have often talked over to- 
gether the proposed changes, as well as those public 
matters in which David was taking an active part. 
And Israel had much to tell of his own experiences and 
successes in his new home. 

Soon after his return to Connecticut we find Israel 
Putnam of practical service in town and parish affairs. 
He applied himself also as industriously as ever to the 
development of his farm. The thrifty routine of his 
agricultural life at Pomfret continued without interrup- 
tion until 1755. Then began an important period of 
new experiences. 








CHAPTER III 

THE CAIvIv TO ARMS 
1755 

ISRAEIv PUTNAM was thirty-seven 
years old when the disturbed condition 
of affairs in the English colonies 
reached a dangerous climax. The 
ambition for supremacy in America had 
been for years the cause of turmoil be- 
tween the English and the French, but it had compar- 
atively little interest for the New England farmers until 
it imperilled their homes. Then they became thoroughly 
aroused, especially on account of the threatening dan- 
ger from the revengeful Indians whom the F'rench had 
been enticing into their own service. The war, which 
is known in history as the Seven Years' War, was the 
fourth between England and France. The American 
phase of the conflict — commonly called the French and 
Indian War — began in 1755, in advance of the formal 
declaration of war. The commander-in-chief of the 
campaign was General Edward Braddock. Of the four 
expeditions which were planned by the British and 
colonial authorities, one was against Fort Duquesne, 
another against the French in Acadia, the third 
against Fort Niagara, while the fourth — the movement 

17 



1 8 Israel Putnam [1755 

in which Putnam bore a part — was against Crown 
Point. 

When the stirring appeal for volunteers was made 
throughout Connecticut, as elsewhere, Israel Putnam 
was one of the first persons in his colony to respond. 
Fifteen years had now passed away since he had re- 
moved from his Massachusetts home to the tract of land 
which he had bought in Connecticut, years which had 
been spent so assiduously in the cultivation of the new 
soil, that the farm was yielding as good, if not better, 
results than any other in the vicinity, and the neigh- 
bours acknowledged its owner to be "a skilful and 
indefatigable manager." A further evidence of his 
prosperity was the new and comfortable house which he 
had built nearly a fourth of a mile south-east of the first 
one. With money from the sale of the surplusage of his 
farm products, he was able to furnish this more ample 
home for his family with some articles which were 
considered luxuries in those da)"S. Putnam's domestic 
life was a happy one. His wife, Hannah, had shared 
sympathetically with him in the experiences of the 
new country, and both of them enjoyed the household 
comforts all the more because of the hardships and the 
necessary privations of the earlier daj-s in Connecticut. 
Putnam was also bound closely to his home by his 
children. His son Israel was now fifteen years old. 
Daniel,* two years younger, was born March lo, 1742. 
There were four little daughters, between the ages of 



* The name of this son, who died at the age of seventeen, is 
visually given as David, by confusion with a child who was born 
to Putnam in 1759, after the death of his second son, and who 
was also named Daniel. The gravestone in the cemetery at 
Brooklyn, Conn., has the name Dam'el, instead of David, in the 
inscription relating to the second son. 



1755] The Call to Arms 19 

eleven and two years, — Hannah, born August 25, 
1744 ; Elizabeth, March 20, 1747; Meliitable, October 
21, 1749 ; and Mary, May 10, 1753. When Putnam 
obeyed the call to arms it meant leaving a family be- 
hind him which demanded in many special ways a 
father's care and forethought. There were, besides, 
the manifold matters connected with the farm, but 
these and all other things were subordinate to the im- 
perative need of men to defend the colonies in the grave 
exigency. 

In the early summer of 1755, Putnam had bidden his 
family good-by and was on the march towards Albany 
in the band of volunteers, his wife having bravely 
taken charge of the farm, with the help of the two boys, 
Israel and Daniel. The advance of the Connecticut 
men across the country was slow, owing to the natural 
impediments of the rough and wooded region. When 
they reached Albany they encamped just outside the 
town upon the plains where the forces from the other 
colonies were also assembling. In July, the provincial 
army for the Crown Point enterprise numbered about 
three thousand men ; an unsoldier-like gathering as to 
outward appearance, for it was composed chiefly of 
farmers who wore their ordinary clothing, and few of 
them had any military experience. lyike most of the 
other volunteers, the men from Connecticut had brought 
their own firelocks, hatchets, belts, cartridge-boxes, 
and blankets. But the crude army, which the enemy 
considered a mere " mob of countrymen " that could 
be easily routed, contained sterling material. 

The provincial soldiers were joined at Albany by a 
band of Indian allies, whose chief was the " brave and 
sagacious" Hendrick. Putnam himself must have 
witnessed the goodwill which these Mohawks showed 



20 Israel Putnam [1755 

towards William Johnson, the commander of the Crown 
Point expedition. They adorned the General's face 
with war-paint, and he danced the war-dance, we are 
told, and then with his sword he cut the first slice 
from the ox that had been roasted whole for their 
entertainment. 

In midsummer the main army was ordered north- 
ward under General Phineas Lyman of Connecticut; 
and Putnam was one of the soldiers who marched the 
distance of nearly forty miles along the bank of the 
Hudson River to the Great Carrying Place. Here 
several weeks were spent by the troops in building a 
fort which was first called Fort Lyman — a name that 
was afterwards changed to Fort Edward in honour of the 
Duke of York. On the 21st of August, General John- 
son, who was still at Albany for the purpose of forward- 
ing the bateaux, artillery, and provisions, learned from 
Mohawk scouts that the French were advancing in 
overwhelming numbers to defend Crown Point. He 
immediately called a council of war. The advice was 
to send to the different colonies for reinforcements. In 
response to Johnson's appeal, a special session of the 
General Assembly of Connecticut was convened by 
Governor Fitch on the 27th of August at Hartford, and 
it was resolved that the colony furnish, in addition to 
the thousand volunteers already sent, fifteen hundred 
men who should be formed into two regiments — known 
as the Third and Fourth — with nine companies in each 
regiment. The Assembl}'^ proceeded to the appoint- 
ment of oflScers and selected Israel Putnam for second 
Lieutenant of the Sixth Company in the Third Regi- 
ment.* Putnam's commission did not reach him until 
after the battle of Lake George, which took place on 

* Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. x., p. 399. 



1755] The Call to Arms 21 

the 8th of September. He was, therefore, a private in 
that encounter.* The bloody battle, so memorable 
in the annals of the colonial wars, was fought not long 
after the provincial troops reached the southern ex- 
tremity of Lake George. General Johnson had joined 
the main body of the army, and had ordered it, on the 
26th of August, to advance from the Hudson River 
across the country, a distance of fourteen miles, while 
a detachment of five hundred men remained to garrison 
the fort. The way through the forests and thick 
undergrowth was hewn by gangs of axemen, and the 
two thousand soldiers moved forward towards Lake 
George. There they arrived in the afternoon of the 
same day on which they had left Fort Lyman. The 
camp was pitched near the low hill where Fort George 
was afterwards built ; and the tired men looked out 
over the placid waters of the lake, beautiful in the wild 
charm ofthe encircling ridge of forest-topped mountains. 
During the first fortnight nothing alarming hap- 
pened in the camp at Lake George, and the attention 
of the soldiers was occupied a part of the time in 
various duties ; but on the whole little was done in fell- 
ing trees or preparing for defence against the enemy, 
General Johnson himself fearing little immediate dan- 
ger. On the afternoon of the first Sunday, Putnam 
was among the men who heard young Chaplain Newell 
expound the somewhat untimely text, " Love your 
enemies." A week later, on September 7th, at sunset 
of a beautiful Sunday and soon after Chaplain Will- 
iams had finished preaching, there was an alarm in 
camp. An Indian scout had arrived and reported 
traces of the enemy advancing from South Bay towards 

* Some writers make the error of speaking of Putnam as an 
oflBcer instead of a private in the battle of Lake George. 



22 Israel Putnam [1755 

Fort Lyman. Johnson at once sent a mounted mes- 
senger to warn the commander at the latter place, but 
expected no immediate attack upon his own troops. 

Baron Dieskau, who commanded the French force, 
had not only reached Crown Point with more than 
thirty-five hundred men, but had decided upon an ag- 
gressive movement from that stronghold. An English 
prisoner had deceived him into believing that the main 
body of Johnson's army had returned to Albany. 
Therefore Dieskau' s plan was to surprise the garrison 
at Fort Lyman. When he was within three miles of the 
Hudson River, however, he learned from waggoners, 
who had deserted the English camp and were taken 
prisoners, that most of the English troops were at the 
Lake. This caused him to change his plan. Besides, 
his Indian allies had already refused to advance farther 
towards Fort Lyman, having heard of cannon there, 
but they were willing to go with him to Lake George. 
Moreover, the messenger, whom Johnson had dis- 
patched to warn the fort, had been shot by Indians 
who were with the French, and the letter which he was 
carrying had been discovered. 

Meantime, the English at Lake George had been 
warned again that the enemy were in the vicinity, this 
time by some of the mutinous drivers who had returned 
to the camp after being attacked by the French. A 
council of war, which Johnson had called in the morning 
of September 8th, decided to send out a thousand men 
under Colonel Ephraim Williams. This detachment 
was accompanied by Hendrick, the Mohawk chief, with 
his two hundred warriors. The soldiers — one of them 
was Putnam — who marched out of camp that Monday 
morning, a little after eight o'clock, were soon to be en- 
gaged in a bloody and desperate encounter. 



1755] The Call to Arms 23 

When Dieskau was three miles from the lake, he 
was informed by a prisoner whom his scouts had just 
taken, that the English were coming. He immediately 
prepared to meet them. Keeping his regulars in the 
road, he ordered the Canadians and Indians to occupy 
positions in the front, where, by hiding among the 
thickets and rocks and in the forest along the slopes of 
the mountain, they would form an ambush, horse-shoe 
in shape. As the English approached, Dieskau's 
stratagem was not altogether successful, for some of his 
Indians, either by accident or design, gave the alarm 
to the Mohawks who were with Colonel Williams. 
But before the English could take advantage of the 
warning from a gun which was discharged from the 
bushes, a murderous fire poured out upon them from 
the thickets on the left. Many men fell, and the head 
of the column, as Dieskau himself said, " was doubled 
up like a pack of cards." From the slopes of the hill 
on the right came also a deadly fire upon the English 
ranks. They recoiled in utter confusion under this 
sudden attack. The yelling enemy approached in ter- 
rific onrush. Colonel Williams and old Hendrick 
were among the many who fell dead. The regiment 
would have been annihilated, had it not been for the 
intrepid conduct of Putnam and other soldiers who sup- 
ported Eieutenant-Colonel Nathan Whiting, the gal- 
lant Connecticut officer, upon whom now, after the 
death of Colonel Williams, devolved the command of 
the whole. The men, who rallied under Whiting's 
leadership and covered the retreat of the broken 
column, fought from behind trees like Indians, and 
after firing, fell back by turns. With the assistance 
of some of the Mohawks, as well as a detachment 
which Johnson sent, they made, in the words of Seth 



24 Israel Putnam [1755 

Pomeroy (Putnam's comrade), " a very handsome re- 
treat, and so continued till they came within about 
three-quarters of a mile of our camp. This was the 
last fire our men gave our enemies, which killed great 
numbers of them; they were seen to drop as pigeons." 

After Dieskau had halted within a mile of the Eng- 
lish camp, he collected his scattered troops and pre- 
pared to make the final assault. At this time Johnson's 
men were hastily throwing up a barricade of waggons, 
bateaux, trunks of trees, and every available material. 
Cannon were being planted and guards for the flanks 
of the camp detailed. The soldiers were taking their 
position behind the crude fortification as fast as any 
part of it offered them protection. Some of the men 
were standing up behind the waggons, and others were 
lying flat behind the logs and boats. On the left of the 
line towards the hill were the Connecticut troops; Put- 
nam himself had rejoined them, for the soldiers of the 
detachment, who were not disabled in the " bloody 
morning scout," were ordered to take part in this 
second stage of the battle. 

Soon the enemy appeared in sight. The regulars 
approached in the road ; while along the front rose 
fearful yells and war-whoops, and, as Pomeroy says, 
" the Canadians and Indians, helter-skelter, the woods 
full of them, came running with undaunted courage 
right down the hill upon us, expecting to make us 
flee." A furious engagement followed. Dieskau first 
attacked the English left and centre. Putnam was in 
the hottest part of the fight. Pomeroy, who was not 
far from him, afterwards wrote, " perhaps the hail- 
stones from heaven were never much thicker than their 
bullets came; but, blessed be God! that did not in the 
least daunt or disturb us." From the beginning of the 



1755] The Call to Arms 25 

assault, the French lost control of their Indian allies, 
who scattered everywhere, raising the war-whoop and 
fighting, according to their own custom, from behind 
trees. When Dieskau found that he could make no im- 
pression upon the English left and centre, he attempted 
to force their right, but failed there also. At length 
he was wounded and taken prisoner. Meanwhile, on 
the English side, Johnson had been shot in the thigh, 
and layman, who had taken the command, was bravely 
continuing the battle and making a firm resistance. 
At last, towards five o'clock in the afternoon, the 
enemy gave way, and in the final rout the English 
leaped over the barricade and rushed forward, shouting, 
brandishing their hatchets, and using the butts of their 
guns for clubs in the hand-to-hand encounter. The 
French fled in great confusion. Nearly all of their 
officers and nearly half of their regular troops had been 
killed or wounded. Their Canadian and Indian allies 
had suffered less disastrously, having kept themselves 
more under cover. 

The English lost two hundred and sixty-two men, 
killed, wounded, and missing. The provincial soldiers, 
according to contemporary testimony, " in the morn- 
ing fought like good boys, about noon like men, and in 
the afternoon like devils." Many of them spent the 
following night and the next few days in picking up 
the wounded and in burying the dead. For this pur- 
pose, which he describes as a " melancholy piece of 
business," Pomeroy commanded four hundred men, 
one of whom appears to have been Putnam. 

Putnam, like many another provincial, was eager for 
Johnson to follow up the victory and pursue the French ; 
but, instead of doing so, that General set the soldiers to 
work in building a breastwork and fort near the camp, 



26 Israel Putnam [1755 

for, said he, " we may expect very shortly a more for- 
midable attack." The French, however, retired to 
Ticonderoga, where, within two weeks, they strongly 
fortified themselves. 

Soon after the battle the additional troops from the 
colonies began to arrive at the lake, and among them 
were the two regiments from Connecticut, in one of 
which, as we have seen, Putnam had been appointed a 
second Lieutenant. There came also into camp in Sep- 
tember a partisan chief, v/hom Putnam had already 
seen at Albany. This w^as Robert Rogers, who, with 
a hundred men, had escorted the provision waggons in- 
August from the latter place to the spot where Fort 
Lyman was built. Within a few days after Rogers 
arrived at Lake George, Johnson, who was still appre- 
hensive of another aggressive movement of the French, 
ordered him to reconnoitre Crown Point. This was 
the first of several expeditions, after the battle, to the 
vicinity of the enemy's strongholds, and in a number 
of these attempts Putnam was one of the men who ac- 
companied Rogers. There was something about the 
Connecticut farmer-soldier that led the Captain of the 
rangers to choose him as a suitable companion in 
the hazardous undertakings, and for this important 
and peculiar service Putnam showed at once a special 
aptitude. 




CHAPTER IV 

THE RANGER 

1755-1756 

T was as one of Rogers's Rangers that 
Putnam had special opportunities for 
winning distinction in the French and 
Indian War. It had become increas- 
ingly apparent that under existing cir- 
cumstances, in the region thickly 
wooded and infested with Indians lying in ambush, the 
ordinary soldiers were appallingly at disadvantage. 
There were needed, for special duties, men capable of 
understanding Indian methods of warfare, who could 
scour the forests and make daring reconnoissances. 
Such men should be of vigorous and strong constitu- 
tion. They should be able to make long marches, en- 
dure the hardships of a woodsman's life, and ever be 
ready to outwit the enemy. The provincial rangers 
were selected to serve in a corps, independent of the 
main army. Besides their duties of venturing near the 
hostile strongholds, and surprising straggling parties 
and taking prisoners, they were, " from time to time," 
according to their instructions, 

"to use their best endeavours to distress the French and their 
allies, by sacking, burning, and destroying their houses, barns, 

27 



28 Israel Putnam [1755- 

barracks, canoes, battoes, etc., and by killing their cattle of 
every kind ; and at all times to endeavour to way-lay, attack 
and destroy their convoys of provisions by land and water, in 
any part of the country where they could find them." 

The appointment of Robert Rogers of New Hampshire 
as the commander of this band of men was wise, for he 
was experienced in woodcraft ; he had the quahfications 
for a successful partisan officer, — robustness, energy, sa- 
gacity, tenacity, promptness, and caution. This leader 
and his valued associates, chief among whom were Is- 
rael Putnam and John Stark, became, as the historian 
Francis Parkman says, " famous throughout America ; 
and though it was the fashion of the day to sneer at the 
efforts of provincial troops, the name of Rogers's 
Rangers was never mentioned but with honour." 

The account of the ranging service which Rogers 
gives in his journal * is written in a simple, direct way, 
and does not appear to be exaggerated. The official t 



* This work was published in London, in 1765, "for the 
author " during the visit of Rogers to England, after he had 
served through the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War. 
It had this title. Journals of Major Robert Rogers, containing 
an account of the several excursions he made under the gen- 
erals who commanded during the late war. Sold by J. Millan, 
Bookseller, Whitehall, 1765. It was republished in Dublin, in 
1769, by R. Acheson. In 1831, it appeared in a condensed form 
in a book called Reminiscences of the French War, which was 
edited by Caleb Stark, Jr., and published by Luther Roby, at 
Concord, N. H. It may also be found in an abridged form in 
Caleb Stark's Memoir of John Stark, Concord, N. H., i860. 
The best edition is that by Franklin B. Hough, published at 
Albany, N. Y., 1883. 

f Johnson Manuscripts in the State Library at Albany, N. Y. 
Several of these original reports are printed in the fourth volume 
of the Documentary History of New York. 



1756] The Ranger 29 

reports, also, which Rogers, Putnam, and other pro- 
vincial officers made to General Johnson are invaluable 
as original sources of information in regard to the ex- 
ploits of the rangers whose " perfect mode of attack 
and defence " enabled " a hundred of them to do more 
service than thousands of the British regulars." 

As for their method of scouting and fighting, there 
was no invariable rule among the rangers. Every one 
was governed by circumstances, and that man proved 
himself best qualified for this special service who was 
instinctively clever and resourceful enough for any 
emergency. On one occasion, Rogers wrote out a set of 
general rules for the instruction of some soldiers who 
were sent to him to be trained as rangers, but after he 
had described in considerable detail that which his own 
experience taught him was ordinarily necessary, he 
added that there were a thousand occurrences and cir- 
cumstances which might happen and make it impera- 
tive to put other arts and stratagems in practice; " in 
which cases," said he, " every man's reason and judg- 
ment must be his guide, according to the particular 
situation and nature of things ; and that he may do 
this to advantage, he should keep in mind a maxim 
never to be departed from by a commander, viz. : to 
preserve a firmness and presence of mind on every 
occasion." 

Putnam was not only associated with Rogers in the 
ranging service, but also " became intimately ac- 
quainted " with him, for they had much in common in 
their love of adventure, capacity for physical endur- 
ance, and instinctive bravery. From a description by 
his grandson, Judge Judah Dana, we learn that Put- 
nam was : 

"in his person, for height, about the middle size, very erect, 
thickset, muscular, and firm in every part. His countenance 



30 Israel Putnam [1755- 

was open, strong, and animated ; the features of his face large, 
well-proportioned to each other and to his whole frame ; his 
teeth fair and sound till death. His organs and senses were all 
exactly fitted for a warrior ; he heard quickly, saw to an 
immense distance, and though he sometimes stammered in 
conversation, his voice was remarkably heavy, strong, and 
commanding." 

On account of his qualifications, Putnam was not only 
selected as one of Rogers's men, but was assigned to 
special duties in the ranging service, with the rank 
of Captain. The adventurous undertakings which he 
shared at this period extended late into the autumn of 
1755, while the main army remained in camp at Lake 
George. 

With forty or fifty men in five boats, Rogers and 
Putnam left camp in the evening of the 7th day of Oc- 
tober, and in advancing on the lake passed by three or 
four fires on the shore. When they had gone a dis- 
tance of sixteen miles, they missed one bateau and un- 
fortunately could not find it on account of the darkness. 
Continuing the journey, they landed at daybreak on 
the east side of the lake, and there, within twelve miles 
of the Carrying Place to Ticonderoga, lay concealed all 
day with their men. In the evening the rangers em- 
barked again and proceeded on their way ; but, seeing 
a fire on an island, they put to land, and sent out men 
in a birch canoe to reconnoitre. The enemy on the 
island, having discovered the canoe, extinguished their 
fire and apparently retreated ; after which the rangers 
went forward five miles nearer the French stronghold 
and landed at a point on the west side of the lake. 
From that place, on the morning of October 9th, 
Rogers sent " Capt. Putnam with one man and Capt. 
Hunt with three men more in order to go to the Carry- 



1756] The Ranger 31 

iug Place and Ticonderoga, and make discoveries there 
and return to the party." 

In the evening, Captain Hunt, who had accompanied 
Putnam within two miles of the Carrying Place, re- 
turned to report that there were large numbers of the 
enemy in that vicinity on both sides of the lake; and 
that night, Rogers sent Ensign Timothy Putnam and 
three men in a birch canoe to make such additional 
discoveries as they could in the same locality. Mean- 
while, Israel Putnam, with his companion, was spend- 
ing the night on a mountain, near the shore of the lake, 
watching the fires of French and Indians, and trying to 
obtain all the information he could at that distance, for 
he had decided that it was not safe to proceed to Ticon- 
deroga. Fortunately, we have his own account of his 
experiences from the time he left Rogers until he re- 
turned to him. It is as follows : 

"REPORT OF CAPT. PUTNAM 

"sent by caft. rodgers as a spy to ticonderoga 

" Octr 9th, 1755. Then left Cap^ Rogers upon a neck of Land 
upon the west side of Lake George and Set out towards Tycon- 
dorogue to see what Discoveries we Could make and after we 
had march? about 7 or 8 miles we came upon a Large Mountain 
near the Heither end of the narrows, and when we came there 
we Could make no Discovery at all, but after sometime wee 
espyed three Barke Cannoes Drew upon the Shore upon a point 
of Land that Ran into the Lake, and then wee espyed two 
Indians Comeing out of the Bushes toward the Cannoes, after 
water, and after sometime we espyed several french and Indians 
on the East side of the Lake and soon after that we heard the 
noise of Cutting, hewing, adsing, and sawing, as tho there was 
a Large Company of men at work, and by their talking and 
Laughing their was amongst them, and then we Espyed about 
thirty Indians Came out of the Bushes on the west side of the 



32 Israel Putnam [1755- 

Lake ou the point within a large musket shot of us, and played 
a spell ou the Beach, and Returned into the Bush, and from the 
poiut Eastward, their was almost a Continual fireing and bark- 
ing of Doggs and talking so we tho^ it was not safe to proceed 
toTycondarogue and so Concluded to tarry there all knight and 
see what further Discoveries wee Could make by the fires in the 
knight, and just at the Dusk of the evening their Came four 
Cannoes from the East and went to the west side of the Lake 
and landed on the point where the others were incamped, and 
Drew up their Cannoes ou y<= Shore and by this time wee began 
to Discover the fires ou the poiut and on the East side of the 
Lake, but Could not Discover what number their was, because 
the Bushes were so thick by the Lake but as near as we Could 
best Judge we tho' there was six or seven hundred by the fires 
and Guards set on both sides the Lake and about Day Brake, 
they mustered their men to work and then wee Left the mount- 
ain and Returned to Cap' Rogers on the point and when we 
Came within sixty or seventy Rods of the point we Espyed 
thirteen Indians pass by within ten Rods of us, towards the 
point where we left Cap". Rogers, aud after they had passed by 
us, we Came to the point where we left Cap' Rogers, aud found 
all well this is the Chef of the Discovery and best account that 
I am able to give. 

"iSRAEi. Putnam 
"To Cap' Rodgers. 

"The Report of Captain Putnen. 
(Endorsed) " Cap' Pitmans Report 

who was sent by Cap' 

Rodgers as a Spy to 

Tiondorogo 

deliv'^ 12 Oct^" 

Before Putnam returned to the place where the 
rangers were concealed, Rogers and his men had seen 
some of the enemy not far away. Just after the senti- 
nels and scouts reported that they had overheard hostile 
voices, " Capt. Putnam instantly came back," says 
Rogers, "with the account that the Indians were on 
otir backs. ' ' As the savage force seemed too strong to 



1756] The Ranger 33 

be withstood, the rangers hastily entered their boats 
and started back towards the main encampment. After 
going fifteen miles, they lodged on an island, and on 
the following day, October nth, arrived where the 
army was stationed. 

But Rogers and several of his best men did not re- 
main long in camp. It was only two days after the 
return of the scouting party, that General Johnson, 
in writing to Sir Charles Hardy, mentioned that the 
chief ranger purposed to set off at once " with two or 
more picked men, take a review, if he can, of Ticon- 
deroga and proceed to Crown Point for a prisoner." 
One of the " picked men " to whom Johnson alluded 
was Putnam, and so the expedition has special interest 
for us. It proved to be the most dangerous undertak- 
ing in which he had yet shared as a scout. Rogers 
drew up an official report of it which Putnam also 
signed. In quoting this document, it seems well, for 
the sake of greater clearness, to change somewhat the 
orthography, and to adopt punctuation and division 
into sentences and paragraphs: 

" REPORT OF CAPT. ROGERS AND CO.'S SCOUTS 

" Ou the 14th day of October, 1755, I embarked in a birch 
canoe at the camps on the south end of Lake George, with four 
men beside myself, and sailed twenty-five miles, and lauded on 
the west side of the lake. Then travelled by laud, and ou the 
i8th day I arrived on the mountains ou the west side of Crown 
Point, where I lay that night and all the next day, and observed 
the enemy's motions there, and about Crown Point. Observed 
Ambussers built upon the mount, about thirty rods to the south- 
west of Crown Point fort. In the evening went down to the 
houses that were built upon the lake, to the south of Crown 
Point, and went into a barn that was well filled with wheat. 
L,eft three men and proceeded with oue man to make further 
3 



34 Israel Putnam [1755- 

dicoveries at the fort. Found a good place to ambush within 
sixty rods of the fort, and immediately went back and took our 
partners, and ambushed at the proper place we had found." 

At this point in the official report, the facts which 
Rogers has just stated need to be supplemented by the 
account of the same expedition which he gives in his 
journal. From the latter document we learn the seri- 
ous predicament in which the members of the scouting- 
party found themselves next morning : 

" My men lay concealed in a thicket of willows," says Rogers 
in his journal, " while I crept something nearer, to a large pine 
log, where I concealed myself by holding bushes in my hand. 
Soon after sun-rise the soldiers issued out in such numbers, that 
my men and I could not possibly join each other without a 
discovery." 

For several hours that forenoon the rangers con- 
tintied in their plight, as we find in taking up the 
official account again : 

" There we lay till about ten o'clock. Observed several 
canoes passing up and down the lake, and sundry men that went 
out to work about their secular affairs, and judged the whole 
that was in the fort to be about five hundred." 

The way in which Rogers finally extricated himself 
and his men is described both in his journal and in the 
report. In the former he says : 

" About 10 o'clock a single man marched out directly towards 
our ambush. When I perceived him within ten yards of me, I 
sprung over the log, and met him, and offered him quarters, 
which he refused, and made a pass at me with a dirk, which I 
avoided, and presented my fusee to his breast ; but notwith- 
standing, he still pushed on with resolution, and obliged me to 
dispatch him. This gave an alarm to the enemy, and made it 
necessary for us to hasten to the mountain." 



1756] The Ranger 35 

But Rogers does not mention in his journal the 
timely assistance which he received from one of his 
men in his encounter with the enemy who approached 
him. This additional information is contained in the 
ofl&cial report, which gives an account of the same in- 
cident in these words: 

" At length, a Frenchman came out of the fort towards us, 
without his gun, and came within fifteen rods of where we lay. 
Then I with another man ran up to him in order to capture him, 
but he refused to take quarters, — so we killed him, and took off 
his scalp, in plain sight of the fort, — then ran and in plain view 
about twenty rods and made our escape." 

The man who came to the assistance of Rogers was 
Putnam, according to the following version from 
Humphreys in his Essay on the Life of Israel Putnam: 

" Captain Rogers, being at a little distance from Captain Put- 
nam, fortuitously met a stout Frenchman, who instantly seized 
his fusee with one hand, and with the other attempted to stab 
him, while he called to an adjacent guard for assistance. The 
guard answered. Putnam, perceiving the imminent danger of 
his friend, and that no time was to be lost, or further alarm 
given by firing, ran rapidly to them, while they were yet strug- 
gling, and with the butt-end of his piece laid the Frenchman 
dead at his feet. The partisans, to elude pursuit, precipitated 
their flight, joined the party, and returned without loss to the 
encampment." 

Why did Rogers pass over in silence in his journal 
the timely help which Putnam gave him on this occa- 
sion ? Jealousy in after years, when that writing was 
published (strange that Rogers should ever have had 
any such feeling toward the associate who saved his 
life!) seems to have been the reason for the omission. 

The account of the expedition, from the time that the 
rangers escaped from their dangerous position near the 



36 Israel Putnam [1755- 

French fort until they returned to camp, is given in the 
following paragraph, with which the official report 
closes : 

" The same night we came right west of Ticonderoga, about 
three miles, and upon a mountain in plain sight of their fort, 
and saw large encampments around it, and heard a vast number 
of small arms fired. Judged there to be two thousand men at 
Ticonderoga. On the 21st day, got to our canoes about eight 
o'clock in the morning, and found all safe. About nine o'clock 
in the evening, arrived all well at our encampments from 
whence we had set out." 

A week after his return from Crown Point, with the 
four men who accompanied him, Rogers was ordered 
to scout again in the vicinity of the enemy's advanced 
guard. He had found Putnam of such valued service 
that he selected him again as one of his companions. 
The party on this occasion consisted of " thirty men, 
in four battoes mounted with two wall-pieces each." 
The earliest account of this expedition is the one ad- 
dressed to General Johnson. lyike the report of the 
undertaking just preceding, it was written by Rogers 
in the first person. It was signed by two scouts be- 
sides himself. They were Israel Putnam and Noah 
Grant. The experiences of the scouting-party were 
these : 

" Pursuant to your orders of the 29th of October last, I set off 
with the party to me ordered, and went down the lake, and on 
the 31st made a discovery of a number of fires by night, situated 
on a point of land on the west side of the lake, upon which we 
landed, and secured our bateaux, upon the same side of the 
lake, about a mile and a half distant from their encampment. 
Next morning sent out spies for further discovery." 

The "spies" were Putnam, Fletcher, and Robert 
Durkee. The report continues : 



1756] The Ranger 37 

" In the evening Captain Fletcher, one of the spies, returned, 
leaving two of the spies there, and made a report that there 
were four tents, and sundry small fires on the point, and upon 
that, after consultation, it was concluded advisable to acquaint 
your Honour [William Johnson] of our discovery, and reinforce 
us if you think it advisable in order to proceed further, and 
make a push upon our enemy. Accordingly, Capt. Fletcher 
was dispatched to you with six men in the bateau, and six being 
returned as invalids — leaving me with nineteen men only." 

After he had sent the detachment back to General 
Johnson, Rogers, " being uneasy with the report " of 
Fletcher in regard to the enemy's position, made re- 
connoissance in person in a bateau, but made " no 
further discovery." On rejoining his men, he found 
that Putnam and his companion had not yet returned. 

Putnam and Durkee were having a dangerous experi- 
ence at " The Ovens." The enemy's fires, instead of 
being placed, according to the English custom, round 
the camp, were grouped in the centre of it ; their men 
were stationed circularly, and the sentinels posted still 
farther in the surrounding darkness. Unaware of this 
arrangement, the two scouts crept upon their hands 
and knees towards the camp, expecting to see the 
sentinels within the circle of fires, but suddenly found 
themselves inside the hostile lines. The guards dis- 
covered the men and fired at them. In their flight in 
the darkness, Putnam soon stumbled into a clay-pit. 
His companion, although shot in the thigh, followed 
not far behind, and he, too, fell into the pit. Putnam, 
supposing his pursuer to be one of the enemy, was 
about to strike him with his hatchet, but at that mo- 
ment recognised the voice of Durkee, who inquired 
whether he had escaped uninjured. They leaped out 
of the pit together, and, although again fired upon, 
reached a ledge not far distant. 



38 Israel Putnam [1755- 

" There they betook themselves to a large log," says Hum- 
phreys, " by the side of which they lodged the remainder of the 
night. Before they lay down. Captain Putnam said he had a 
little rum in his canteen, which could never be more acceptable 
or necessary ; but on examining the canteen, which hung 
under his arm, he found the enemy had pierced it with their 
balls, and that there was not a drop of liquor left. The next 
day he found fourteen bullet-holes in his blanket." * 

Returning now to the report, and continuing it from 
the point where we left off, we find a reference in the 
ofiicial account to the clay-pit incident : 

" The next morning about ten o'clock Capt. Putnam returned 
and the spy Durkee with hira, who gave much the same account 
as Fletcher, saving that the enemy's sentries were set twenty 
rods from their fire, and that for a more critical examination 
of the enemy's proceedings he went forward till he came so 
nigh them that he was fired upon by one of the sentries within 
a rod of them. But, unfortunately, upon preparing to fire upon 
him, fell into a clay-pit and wet his gun. Then made the best 
retreat he was able ; hearing the enemy close to their heels, 
they made a tack and luckily escaped safe to our party." 

The enemy, in pursuing the two scouts, found out 
the hiding-place of all the rangers, but not until Put- 

* Humphreys and other writers mistake the date of this ad- 
venture, and give it as 1756, instead of 1755. 

The statement in regard to "fourteen bullet holes" in the 
blanket has sometimes been exaggerated into the assertion that 
Putnam was hit by the same number of separate bullets. In 
criticism of such versions, Fellows, in his Veil Removed, 
wrote : "His (Putnam's) blanket was of course rolled up and 
slung upon his back, and therefore one ball might have perfor- 
ated it in as many places as stated and at the same time passed 
through his canteen." 

Cutter, in his Life of Israel Putttatn, says: "Whether all 
this boring was the work of one leaden messenger from the 
French camp, or of many, it must be regarded as one of those 
remarkable escapes." 



1756] The Ranger 39 

nam and Durkee had succeeded in rejoining their 
fellows: 

"Soon after, there was a discovery made of two Frenchmen 
upon a hill a small distance, who called to us. Said hill over- 
looked our ambush. In a few minutes they retreated, and two 
canoes appeared and went by us, and lay in the middle of the 
lake about forty rods distance from each other." 

It was soon apparent to the rangers that the enemy- 
intended to approach by both water and land, in mak- 
ing the attack. In this emergency, Rogers embarked 
with some of his men to meet the hostile force, which 
was not far away on the lake, and Putnam remained 
on shore in command of the rest of the scouting- 
party. Rogers describes the movements as follows : 

"Judging by their behaviour that there was a party coming 
by land, and that we must inevitably be between two fires, I 
ordered two bateaux into the water ; Lieut. Grant with six men, 
and I with six more, and we put on board of each a wall-piece, 
and went out towards the canoes, who seemed to lie by their 
paddles, as though they had a design to decoy us into some 
mischief by their party, and that it was designed to surround 
our people on shore, and then attack us by keeping us between 
them and their party. Finding their design, we attacked them 
first, put them to rout and surprised them so that they made to 
the shore, where Capt. Putnam and the rest of our party lay." 

Next, comes the story of the efl&cient help which 
Rogers received from Putnam, who narrowly escaped 
death from the enemy's bullets : 

"They [the enemy] made to the shore, but unhappily for 
them, he [Putnam] was prepared for them, and shot and killed 
their cockswain ; and by our wall-piece, etc., killed divers of 
them. But upon his firing upon their canoe, immediately the 
enemy that was upon his back, fired, and he had just time to 
shove his bateau out into the water, and get into it, before the 



40 Israel Putnam [1755- 

enemy appeared upon the water's edge, and made a brisk fire 
upon him. He was shot through his blanket in divers places, 
and through the bateau, and then he made to our bateaux for 
refuge. Upon his escape, we pursued the canoes with a con- 
stant fire upon them till we came within eighty rods of their 
fires. Discovered a number of men upon each side of the 
shore, within about forty rods of us, and gave each a broadside 
which put them to the bush, and gave us a clear passage home- 
wards." 

The fortunate result of the encounter was followed 
by mutual congratulations among the rangers and then 
the scouting-party returned to camp, as we learn in the 
closing words of the report : 

" After we got fairly into the lake we lay upon upon our oars, 
and inquired after the circumstances of the party. Found none 
killed, but one wounded, which gave joy to all of us, after so 
long an engagement, which I judge was near two hours. 

"And then we made the best of our way to our headquarters. 
About half way, we met with the reinforcements — but upon 
consultation, thought best to report what had happened, with- 
out further proceeding, and accordingly arrived here, to the 
encampment, the 3d [of November]." 

Two weeks later we find Putnam in charge of a 
scouting-party which was sent to reconnoitre in the 
vicinity of South Bay for any signs of a hostile force 
approaching from that direction. On his return with 
his men, after an absence of nearly two days, he re- 
ported that he had seen no enemy, but had discovered 
several deserted camps. The hostile force had evid- 
ently withdrawn from the region. 

During the autumn there was considerable suffering 
in camp, for the soldiers were too thinly clad for the in- 
clement weather. Orders were finally issued for the 
main body of troops to break up camp. It had been 
decided, before the army left Lake George, that some of 



1756] The Ranger 41 

the men from each colony should be employed during 
the winter in garrisoning Fort William Henry there, 
as well as Fort Edward on the Hudson River, Putnam 
was one of those retained, and on November 25th he 
was made Captain of a company, which by December 
5th was stationed at Fort Edward. Some of these 
soldiers under his command were young men from the 
town of Pomfret and that vicinity, whom he had been 
active in securing as recruits about the time of his own 
enlistment. The energy and popularity of their leader 
was an inducement for them to remain for the special 
service during the winter months. While the other 
soldiers, then, dispersed to their homes, Putnam stayed 
with the men who were detailed to strengthen, com- 
plete, and equip the forts, and to improve the road 
between the Hudson River and the south-western ex- 
tremity of Lake George. His company was also em- 
ployed in scouting and ranging, but it is uncertain in 
just what expeditions. Rogers made several excur- 
sions towards the enemy's forts during the winter, but 
he does not mention Putnam in his account of these 
undertakings ; indeed, it is doubtful whether or not 
the two rangers were associated during the six months 
after the departure of the army, for their headquarters 
were different — Rogers remaining at Fort William 
Henry, while Putnam was transferred to Fort Edward. 
Although we do not have the particulars of the service 
which Putnam rendered in the winter of 1755-56, we 
know that it must have been of the same hazardous 
nature as that in the autumn, for a sharp guerrilla 
warfare was carried on with the enemy. The savages 
who infested the region were accustomed ■ to all the 
perils of winter and wilderness, and, as allies of the 
French, were ready to improve every opportunity to 



42 Israel Putnam [1755- 

harass the English. Putnam was continually upon the 
alert. 

Meanwhile, the wife at Pomfret must have had many- 
anxious thoughts about the safety of her husband, from 
whom, on account of distance and isolation, she had 
scanty if any news at all-, after the return of the soldiers 
in the early part of December. Besides this solicitude 
for the absent one, there were the mother's extra duties 
at home, during the winter months, in caring for the 
children and farm. On the loth of January, 1756, the 
seventh child was born, the daughter Kunice, whom 
Putnam was destined not to see until the late spring or 
early summer 

In April, 1756, we get a glimpse of Putnam at the 
place where the Indians had just made an important 
capture. Ebenezer Dyer, of New Haven, " fort-major 
and commissary," was making his way from Fort 
Edward to Saratoga, escorted by men from Putnam's 
company, when both he and members of the covering 
party were surprised and overcome by the savages. 
As soon as the news reached Putnam, he hastened to 
the relief of Dyer and the others, but the prisoners had 
been carried off in the meantime towards Canada, 
where they were kept several years. 

The place where the capture occurred was identified 
by Putnam by some bills of the colony which he found 
torn and scattered about. The money, amounting to 
£,2\, had belonged to Dyer. Five years afterwards the 
Connecticut Assembly granted the petition of " Col. 
John Dyar, administrator on the estate of Ebenezer 
Dyar, late deceased," and reimbursed the " bills wholly 
destroyed by the Indians," with interest. It was in 
this connection that Putnam made the following state- 
ment in his own handwriting : 



1756] The Ranger 43 

" this may certify that the Day aftor Majir Dyar was taken 
captive by the In dens I was down on the whare [where] he was 
taken with a Party of men and thare saw amongst his Papors 
that ware torn to peses [pieces] I saw a considarabel quantyti 
of Prock [Proclamation] monny tor to peses and holy [wholly] 
mad[e] uesles [useless]. 

" ISRAEi* Putnam.* 
" May 19, 1760." 

On May 30, 1756, Putnam was relieved from service ; 
and in recognition of that which he and his principal 
Connecticut associate had accomplished the General 
Assembly, then in session at Hartford, passed the fol- 
lowing : 

" This Assembly grants to Capt. Israel Putnam the number 
of fifty Spanish mill'd dollars, and thirty such dollars unto 
Capt. Noah Grant, as gratuity for their extraordinary services 
and good conduct in ranging and scouting the winter past for 
the annoyance of the enemy near Crown Point and discovery 
of their motions." 

Nearly a year had passed away since Putnam en- 
listed ; and glad he must have been to return home to 
see his wife and children, but his stay with them was 
brief, for he was to have part in another campaign 
which had already been planned by the Government. 



* From the original document in the State Library, Hartford, 
Conn. 





CHAPTER V 



GUARDING THE FORTS 




1756 

}|HE New England men, according to the 
plans for the campaign of 1756, were to 
be employed only in a movement 
against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 
while the soldiers whom William Shir- 
ley, the Commander-in-chief of all the 
colonial troops, meant to lead in person, were intended 
for an attack on the French forts at Lake Ontario. 
Putnam, who had been appointed by the General As- 
sembly of Connecticut, at its March session, to be Cap- 
tain of the Fourth Company in the First, or Lyman's, 
Regiment from that colony, arrived in early June at 
the encampment at Half Moon on the Hudson, where 
the provincials were mustering. After some delay, the 
troops, under the command of General John Winslow, 
moved forward from the encampment at Half Moon to 
Stillwater, and from there to Saratoga ; thence to 
Upper Falls and on to Fort Edward. Here, nearly half 
of the army was ordered to remain under General 
Phineas Lyman of Connecticut, while Winslow him- 
self advanced with the rest of the troops fourteen miles 
to Fort William Henry, where he expected to gather 

44 



1756] Guarding the Forts 45 

all his force at an early date and embark on Lake 
George for the attack on the French strongholds. On 
the way from Half Moon, detachments had been left at 
some of the small posts below Fort Edward, but Putnam 
and his company appear to have been with Lyman. 

It was now midsummer. Hostile bands of French- 
men and Indians infested the region wherever the 
English were stationed. Putnam was one of the men 
who were especially employed to ward off the skulking 
enemy and, as one of the Connecticut ofl&cers expressed 
it, " to give those villains a dressing." It was, how- 
ever, a difficult task to outwit the wily savages, who, 
eager for scalps, ventured near the English posts and 
practiced their most cunning stratagems. Again and 
again would the nimble invaders escape although 
watched for with the greatest vigilance. 

For several successive nights the sentinels on duty 
at a particular outpost in the vicinity of Fort Edward 
disappeared one by one. Strict orders were given by 
the commander that any sentinel hearing a noise 
should call out three times, "Who goes there?" 
Then, if there were no response, he was to fire at the 
place from which the suspicious sound came. How- 
ever, each morning the guard was missing, and it was 
evident that some beast or savage of unusual craftiness 
watched about the place. On account of the great 
danger of the post, since some of the bravest men in 
the garrison, who had offered themselves as guards, 
met the same mysterious fate, and because there were 
no more volunteers, it became necessary to draft men 
for picket duty. This was about to be done, when 
Putnam, who as a commissioned officer was not among 
those from whom a selection would be made, offered 
his own services in the emergency. He was accordingly 



46 Israel Putnam [1756 

made sentinel for the night with the usual instruc- 
tions. On reaching the post, Putnam took special 
precautions to examine his surroundings minutely, his 
experience as a ranger having already led him to sus- 
pect that the Indians were guilty of picking off the 
guards. It was not until midnight that anything un- 
usual happened. Then his trained ear detected a 
crackling sound in the grass. Anyone less alert than 
Putnam might not have mistrusted that the noise came 
from anything more harmful than a belated animal 
feeding upon nuts, but he lost no time aiming his gun 
in that direction and calling out three times, " Who 
goes there ? " After which, he fired immediately. He 
heard a groan, and, upon going to the spot, found that 
he had shot through the breast a large Indian, who was 
disguised in a bearskin. This dying savage proved to 
be the cause of the disappearance of the sentinels, for 
thereafter trouble of that kind ceased. 

The uncertainty in regard to the French movements 
in this campaign of 1756 made it especially important 
to obtain prisoners who could give the much-wished- 
for information. On one occasion, when Putnam with 
five scouts had been sent out expressly for this purpose, 
an incident occurred which illustrates the difficulty he 
sometimes had in training his men because of their 
obtuseness to Indian wiles. Having reached the road 
leading to Ticonderoga, the scouting party hid in some 
tall grass to watch for the enemy. Notwithstanding 
the precautions which Putnam had insisted upon, the 
men were careless in showing themselves ; and after 
being reprimanded they concealed themselves again 
only under protest. Soon an Indian passed by, and, 
at some distance behind him, a Frenchman followed. 
At the right moment, Putnam sprang out of the 



1756] Guarding the Forts 47 

hiding-place and started to run after them. He or- 
dered his men to follow and expected them to do so 
as bravely as they had disregarded cautionary measures. 
At a distance of thirty rods, he overtook the French- 
man and seized him by the shoulders to take him 
prisoner. The Frenchman, however, resisted, for he 
saw no other assailant and relied upon help from the 
Indian. Then Putnam, finding that his men, unmind- 
ful of their Captain's danger, were most inopportunely 
still hiding in the grass, released his hold, stepped 
back, and aimed his gun at his enemy's breast, but it 
missed fire. In this plight, he fled to rejoin his com- 
panions. The Frenchman, in turn, pursued him, but 
on seeing Putnam's associates rise from the place where 
they had lain concealed, he rushed off" in another direc- 
tion and escaped. So inefficient had the members of 
this party proved, that Putnam discharged them from 
the special service of scouting. He was not to be 
daunted, however, in his quest of a prisoner, and, set- 
ting out again soon afterwards, he succeeded in catching 
one. 

The information about the enemy, which was ob- 
tained both from prisoners and by the reconnoissances 
of the scouts, showed that the plans of the English had 
been anticipated by the Marquis de Montcalm, who had 
succeeded Dieskau as commander of the French troops. 
He had hastened in June to defend Ticonderoga and 
had strongly garrisoned that important position. Hav- 
ing learned also of the danger to which his forts on 
Lake Ontario were exposed, he prepared to repel an 
attack in that direction. Meanwhile, the English made 
little progress in their military operations. Instead of 
carrying out their aggressive policy, they were occupied 
in protecting themselves from the ravages of swarms of 



48 Israel Putnam [1756 

enemies who continued to pour out from that " hornet's 
nest," Ticonderoga. The services of men capable of 
fighting savages became invaluable to the English, 
who had few Indian allies in comparison with the 
French. The number of rangers had been increased 
since the previous year. They were more formally 
organised into companies under Robert Rogers as their 
chief. Bands of these men moved in different direc- 
tions for the defence of the forts, and on one occasion 
at least during this campaign of 1756, Rogers and Put- 
nam made an excursion together. 

While some of the baggage and provisions were being 
transferred from Fort Edward to Fort William Henry 
and were at Half-Way Brook — so named from being 
midway between the two places — six hundred of the 
enemy suddenly appeared and, after killing the oxen 
and plundering the waggons, succeeded in carrying off 
the booty. The troops which had acted as the English 
escort dared to make but little resistance. As soon as 
the news of the loss reached the English garrison, 
Rogers and Putnam were ordered to take one hundred 
volunteers in boats, with two wall-pieces and two 
blunderbusses, and to proceed down Lake George to a 
certain point ; there to leave the bateaux under a 
proper guard, and thence to cross by land, so as to 
harass, and, if practicable, intercept the retreating 
enemy at the Narrows. 

So expeditiously did the rangers execute these orders 
that they reached the Narrows half an hour in advance 
of the enemy, who, unaware of the ambush, proceeded 
on their way down Wood Creek, their bateaux being 
loaded with the plunder. Suddenly the banks blazed 
forth a most withering fire. Many of the oarsmen were 
killed, several of the bateaux were sunk, and few, if 



1756] Guarding the Forts 49 

any, of the volunteers would have escaped, had not the 
wind swept the rest of the boats even more rapidly than 
usual through the Narrows into South Bay and borne 
them beyond gunshot. Some of the enemy now hast- 
ened with the news of the attack by the English to 
Ticonderoga. From that place a detachment was sent 
immediately to intercept the rangers on their way back 
to Fort Edward. Rogers and Putnam, knowing that 
this would be the probable attempt of the French, re- 
turned with their men as speedily as possible to their 
boats, twenty miles distant. They reached these that 
night, and having embarked at once arrived on the 
morrow at Sabbath- Day Point. There they found 
three hundred of the enemy on shore, preparing to at- 
tack them. This was the hostile force which had been 
sent in pursuit, but which, owing to the darkness, had 
passed by them unobserved some time in the night. 
Having now discovered the English approaching, the 
French and Indians, confident of easy victory on ac- 
count of their own overwhelming numbers, entered 
their boats and advanced in battle line. The rangers 
waited until their assailants were within pistol-shot ; 
then they discharged their wall-pieces and blunder- 
busses with such effect that, together with the fire from 
the small arms immediately afterwards, they made great 
havoc among the enemy. By alternate discharge of 
cannon and musketry, they kept up a continuous fire, 
which finally routed the French and Indians and made 
them retreat to Ticonderoga. Only one ranger was 
killed and two slightly wounded. The loss on the other 
side was very heavy. In one boat which contained 
twenty Indians, fifteen of them were killed, and many 
both of French and Indians were seen to fall overboard 
from the other boats. After the battle, Rogers and 



50 Israel Putnam [1756 

Putnam refreshed their men on shore at Sabbath-Day 
Point and returned safely to camp. 

In the latter part of the summer, the new com- 
mander-in-chief, who had succeeded Shirley, arrived at 
Fort Edward. Putnam now had the chance to know 
him, that " rough Scotch lord," the " hot and iras- 
cible " Loudoun, whose ignorance of the country and 
the army had caused additional delay in the military 
movements. August was well advanced when the 
startling news reached the English that a great disas- 
ter had befallen their forts at Oswego. Colonel Daniel 
Webb was on his way with reinforcements for those posts 
when the tidings met him : — Montcalm, leaving lycvis 
in command of three thousand men at Ticonderoga, 
had returned to Montreal, advanced from there to Lake 
Ontario, captured the garrisons, and razed the strong- 
holds. The English had been anxious about the safety 
of those forts, but were astonished at the extent of the 
calamity. We get an idea of the feelings of the soldiers 
at Fort Edward — where Putnam first heard the news 
— in a letter written by one of the officers there : 
" Such a shocking affair has never found a place in 
English annals. The loss is beyond account ; but the 
dishonour done His Majesty's arms is infinitely 
greater." 

The catastrophe seemed to paralyse the English 
plans for the remainder of the campaign. Winslow, 
who was still at Fort William Henry, received orders 
from Loudoun to give up the proposed attack on Ti- 
conderoga and to remain where he was ; and Winslow 
was glad to stay, for, as he said with grim humour, 
" the sons of Belial are too strong for me." He began 
at once to intrench his camp as formidably as possible, 
and made an almost impenetrable abattis by having the 



I 



1756] Guarding the Forts 51 

trees felled for the space of a mile between Lake 
George and the mountains. Meantime, Montcalm had 
returned to Ticonderoga and strongly garrisoned that 
position with a force of more than five thousand men. 
Rumours reached the English that he was about to move 
upon them, but Montcalm stayed at his own fortifica- 
tion, vigilantly guarding it. 

Although the armies at the opposite ends of the lake 
did not stir from their strongholds, their own scouts 
were as active as ever. Among those of the English, 
Kennedy, Hazen, Peabody, Waterbury, Miller, and 
other provincial officers rendered valuable service, 
" though few," says Parkman, in speaking of them, 
" were so conspicuous as the blunt and sturdy Israel 
Putnam." 

On October i6th, Winslow, in writing to Loudoun, 
mentioned the reconnoissance of a scouting party 
which had just returned to Fort William Henry. He 
said that it was the best yet made, and that the report 
of the leader, Putnam, could be implicitly trusted, for he 
was a man of strict truth. On the expedition to which 
Winslow referred, Putnam and six men had embarked 
in a whaleboat and proceeded down Lake George to a 
point on the east side, opposite the place where Hague, 
N. Y., now stands. Having concealed the boat and 
travelled north-easterly towards Lake Champlain, 
the scouts arrived within three miles of Ticonderoga. 
After reconnoitring it from a mountain, they went 
down nearer and pursued three Frenchmen, who es- 
caped within the fort. Then Putnam and his men 
climbed the mountain a second, time and moved west- 
ward along the ridge, making careful observations of 
all the enemy's outposts between Ticonderoga and 
Lake George. 



52 Israel Putnam [1756 

In the intervals between his expeditions northward 
this autumn, Putnam was constantly employed with 
the other rangers in patrolling the woods about Fort 
Edward and Fort William Henry. A very interesting 
relic relating to Putnam is a powder-horn which was 
made this year and which he afterwards carried. It is 
about twenty inches long and holds one pound and a 
fourth of powder. The carving upon it is said to have 
been done by John Bush, who was an adept in such 
work. This is the inscription : 

" Capt. Israei. Putnam's Horn made at 
Fort Wm. Henry Nov'r ioth a. d. 1756." 

Next upon the horn is a quaint plan of the route of the 
enemy from Albany to I^ake George, showing the 
stations and forts between those points. Then follows 
this stanza : 

" When bows and weighty spears were used in Fight 
Twere nervous limbs Declrd [declared] a man of might 
But now Gun-powder scorns such strength to own 
And Heroes not by Limbs but souls are shown." 

I,ast. come the capitals, WAR, with some curious 
designs between the letters.* 

In November, the main body of the English troops 
retired for the winter ; the regulars went into quarters 
at Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, while the pro- 
vincials marched for home. Some of the rangers, 
however, remained in active service. There is no 



* This old powder-horn is now owned by Israel Waldo Put- 
nam of Rockland, Washington County, Ohio, a great-great- 
grandson of Putnam. He has also a pair of pistols with holsters, 
a magnet, and a brass bullet-mould, all of which once belonged 
to Putnam. 



"^ 




1756] 



Guarding the Forts 



53 



mention of Putnam in the account of the exploits dur- 
ing the winter. He had probably returned to Pomfret. 
If so, he stayed only a few weeks at home, for the French 
commander had plans which many of the provincials 
felt the necessity of forestalling by being on the field at 
the very opening of the next campaign. " When 
Monsieur Montcalm went off," reported one of the 
prisoners whom Putnam and his men had captured in 
the autumn of 1756, " he said he had done enough for 
this year, and would take Fort William Henry early in 
the spring." 




CHAPTER VI 



SAVAGE WARFARE 



I 757-1 758 




lORD LOUDOUN, who was still Com- 
mander-iii chief, decided to use most of 
the English forces for the new campaign 
in a movement against lyouisbourg, on 
Cape Breton Island. Partly because 
of the necessity of garrisoning Forts 
Edward and William Henry, in the absence of the main 
army on the proposed expedition, and partly as a con- 
cession to the New England colonists, who were greatly 
disappointed and alarmed that the attempt on Crown 
Point was not to be renewed in 1757, some of the pro- 
vincials, as well as regulars, were ordered to remain on 
duty in the vicinity of the Hudson River and Lake 
George. Among these men was Putnam. The Con- 
necticut company, of which he was Captain, was 
stationed at Fort Edward during most of the cam- 
paign. There is an interesting reference to Putnam, 
iti a letter which lyieutenant Samuel Porter of Killingly, 
Connecticut, wrote in June of this year, 1757: 

" My Dear & Loving Wii^e : 

" . . . I received your Letter Dated the 6th of May. I re- 
ceived it May 20 at Fort Edward from Capt. Putnam's hand. 

54 



[1757-58] Savage Warfare 55 

. . . 1 have sent you six letters before this. The last I sent 
from Fort Edward Dated June the 9th. ... I told you in 
that letter that Capt. Putnam had took out a number of his 
men and also a number of other company and made up a com- 
pany of Rangers, & about 60 of our Company was left with 
Ensign Hayward & I, and so it remains yet. The next day 
after I wrote to you there was a number of our Connecticut 
men out at work with a guard but the Enemy came and 
fired upon them and Captivated four of them, one of them was 
David Campbell of Killingly, of our company. Capt. Putnam 
was then out for several days and when he came in he brought 
in a Frenchman which he took near the Narrows which gives 
an account of four prisoners being brought in, and describes 
Campbell very well for he had but one eye, — and when the 
enemy did this mischief General Lyman in his own person 
with a small party went after the enemy 8 or 10 miles and came 
upon them & fired & recovered several Mohawks. Yesterday 
some Mohawks Brought in a stout Frenchman which they said 
they took near Crown Point as I understand. But what more 
they have got from the Frenchman by examining him, I have 
not heard as yet." * 

When Putnam returned to Fort Edward from the 
expedition, mentioned in the letter which has just been 
quoted, he found that Frye's Massachusetts regiment 
had arrived there in his absence. Among these new 
men was one of his relatives, a tall and robust young 
private, who was to be associated with him on some 
important occasions, in both this war and the American 
Revolution. This was Rufus Putnam, f now nineteen 



* From the original letter owned by Miss Ruth Carter Tracy, 
of Beverly, Mass., a great-great-granddaughter of Lieutenant 
Samuel Porter. 

t Rufus Putnam, like Israel, was a lineal descendant of John 
Putnam, who emigrated to America about 1640, the line being 
as follows : Rufus, ^ Elisha,^ Edward,* Thomas,' John.' Some 
writers mistake the relationship between Israel and Rufus and 
speak of them as own cousins, but they were more distant 



56 Israel Putnam [1757- 

years old, whose journal, kept during 1757 and in 
later years, is interesting and valuable as an original 
source of information * in regard to Israel Putnam. 

Within a few days, Israel was oflF on another expedi- 
tion, for on July ist Rufus made this entry : 

"This day there came in two of Capt. Putnam's men and 
brought in news that Capt. Putnam fired upon three or four 
hundred French and Indians on South Bay, but when they got 
to shore they were too hard for him and he wanted help. 
General Lyman with about 400 men went out for his relief." 

That evening, Israel Putnam himself returned to the 
fort and gave an account of the engagement, f He had 



kinsmen, for Joseph Putnam (Israel's father) and Edward Put- 
nam (Rufus's grandfather) were half-brothers. 

Rufus was born April 9, 1738, at Sutton, Mass. After his 
father's death in 1745, he spent two years at the home of his 
maternal grandfather, Jonathan Fuller, at Danvers, Mass. In 
1747, his mother married for her second husband Captain John 
Sadler, an innkeeper, of Upton, Mass., and Rufus went to live 
with them. The step-father had little sympathy with the boy's 
ambition to study and denied him all school advantages. But 
Rufus devoted his spare time to text-books, which he bought 
with the money earned by serving guests at the tavern and by 
selling small game which he had shot. By his own unaided 
efforts, he made considerable progress in the way of education. 
At the age of sixteen, he was bound apprentice to one Daniel 
Matthews, of Brookfield, Mass., to learn the trade of millwright, 
and was continuing his studies in his leisure moments there, at 
the time of his enlistment. 

* The original manuscripts of Rufus Putnam are in the 
Library of Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio. 

His journal, kept during four campaigns of the French and 
Indian War, has been edited, with notes and biographical 
sketch, by E. C. Dawes, and was published at Albany, in 1886. 

t Humphreys makes an error in saying that this affair occurred 
*' when General Abercrombie took command at Fort Edward," 



1758] Savage Warfare 57 

been ordered to take sixty men or more and go by land 
to South liay, in Lake Champlain, in order to make dis- 
coveries and to intercept the enemy's parties. Having 
reached a ledge * near the entrance of vSouth Bay, he 
built a stone parapet thirty feet long. He screened 
this with young pine trees which he had cut and 
brought from a distance ; these he planted so .skilfully 
that they looked like a natural growth. The bank in 
this place was well adapted for such a breastwork, for 
it ro.se from the water a jutting precipice ten or twelve 
feet in height. In the long march and the labour of 
building the fortification, fifteen of the men fell ill and 
had to be sent back. The supply of provisions became 
so scanty that Putnam was obliged to deviate from the 
rule he had made which forbade the firing of a gun, 
while on a scouting expedition, except at an enemy, 
and he himself .shot for food a buck which had leaped 
into the lake. This was on the fourth day after the 
works were fini.shed. That evening about ten o'clock, 



and in placinj^ it after the surrender of Fort William Henry. 
Both Rufus Putnam and Colonel James Montresor, the British 
engineer, recorded it on July i, 17.57, i" their journals. 

*Lossing in his Piclorial Field- Book of the Revolution, vol. 
i., describes this ledge as " Putnam's Ledge " or " Put's Rock," 
which projects from the west shore of Lake Champlain at " the 
Elbow," which is half a mile from Whitehall Landing. He 
calls attention to the fact that " in the older histories and in 
geographies of the state of New York, the whole narrow part 
of Lake Champlain south of Ticonderoga was called respectively 
Wood Creek and .South River," and that " these names for that 
portion of the lake have become obsolete." .Some writers 
have been misled, therefore, by Humphreys's statement that 
Putnam " posted himself at Wood Creek, near its entrance into 
vSouth Bay." Wood Creek does not flow into South Bay, but 
enters Lak'- Champlain at Whitehall, 



58 Israel Putnam [1757- 

one of the sentinels on duty at the margin of the bay, 
came back with the news that a fleet of bark canoes 
filled with men was approaching. Putnam immedi- 
ately ordered every man, including the sentinels, whom 
he called in, to take post behind the breastwork. The 
part of the lake which the enemy soon entered is very 
narrow — only a few rods wide — and the shores on 
either side abrupt and rocky, the bank opposite the 
parapet being about twenty feet high. The night was 
clear and the full moon shone with unusual brightness. 
Everything was profoundly still. Putnam intended 
to divide the hostile force by letting part of the canoes 
pass before he began an attack. Some of the enemy 
paddled by, little suspicious of danger ; but unluckily 
one of the soldiers, hidden on the bank, accidentally 
struck his firelock on a stone. The quick ears of the 
commanding officer, who was in one of the foremost 
canoes, detected the sound, and he instantly uttered the 
Indian signal, " Owish." Putnam and his men heard 
him repeat it several times, — that savage watchword 
for the main body to advance, pronounced with a long 
labial hissing, the O being almost silent. The long 
line of canoes huddled together. It was evident that 
the little band under Putnam was greatly outnumbered, 
for the centre of the enemy's force was just in front of 
the parapet, and the fleet covered the lake above and 
below for a considerable distance. The officers seemed 
to be in grave consultation. Soon the canoes began to 
move as if orders had been given to retreat. Then 
Putnam, who had commanded his men not to fire until 
he gave the signal by doing so himself, discharged his 
gun. A deadly volley followed from the breastwork, 
and the well-concerted attack threw the enemy into 
great confusion. When they began to recover from 



1758] Savage Warfare 59 

their consternation, they discovered from the infre- 
quency of the firing — although there was no real inter- 
mission — that the number of their concealed assailants 
must be small, and they set about to land and surround 
them. Putnam had forestalled this movement by 
sending Lieutenant Robert Durkee and twelve men 
about thirty rods down the lake. They succeeded in 
repulsing the party which attempted to land there. 
Meanwhile, another small detachment under Lieutenant 
Parsons, which had been sent up the lake, prevented 
the enemy from getting on shore in that direction. 

In the weird moonlight the tragic scene continued. 
Putnam and his men poured an incessant and destruc- 
tive fire upon the enemy, who in return groaned, 
shrieked, yelled, and ineffectively shot toward the 
parapet. At dawn Putnam learned that some of the 
foe had landed below him and were hastening to cut 
off his retreat. Knowing that the force was superior 
to his own and that he could make but little resistance, 
since his soldiers had only a small supply of ammuni- 
tion left, some of them having in fact shot their last 
round, he ordered his men to " swing their packs." 
They retired rapidly, in good order, and succeeded in 
advancing far enough up Wood Creek to avoid being 
surrounded, although they were obliged to leave behind 
them three of their number, who had been wounded in 
the long-continued action. Afterwards, when Putnam 
was in Canada, he learned that the French and Indians 
in the memorable moonlight encounter numbered five 
hundred, commanded by the famous partisan, Marin. 
No scouting party since the war began had suffered 
such a loss, for more than one-half of those who went 
out never came back. 

"When Putnam and his gallant little compan}^ had 



6o Israel Putnam [1757- 

been on the march along "Wood Creek about an hour, 
after leaving the parapet, they were suddenly fired 
upon. " Rightly appreciating," as Humphreys ex- 
presses it, " the advantage often obtained by assuming 
a bold countenance on a critical occasion," Putnam, 
who was in front, " in a stentorophonick tone " ordered 
his followers to charge upon the assailants. The sup- 
posed hostile force proved to be but a band of provin- 
cials who were also out on a scouting trip. They 
fancied they were attacking the French, but fortun- 
ately the leader recognised Putnam's voice and cried 
out for all to stop firing, saying, " We are friends." 
Whereupon Putnam brusquely called to him, " Friends 
or enemies, you all deserve to be hanged for not killing 
more, when you had so fair a shot ! ' ' Characteristic as 
this was of Putnam's martial spirit, he must have been 
glad at heart that only one of his men was mortally 
wounded in the hasty attack by friendly scouts. 

At a distance of twelve miles from Fort Edward, 
Putnam met the detachment which had been sent to 
his aid. This reinforcement under Lyman did not, 
however, turn back, but hastened on to relieve the 
wounded. Three days later, the soldiers at the fort 
learned the sad result of the search. ' ' General Lyman 
came in," writes Rufus Putnam on July 4th, " with all 
the men that went out with him ; but they found that 
two of those wounded men of Capt. Putnam's were 
carried off, and the third they found barbecued at a most 
doleful rate." Colonel Montresor, too, made a record 
of the return of Lyman, who " saw no enemy " but 
" found one of the remains of the people that was 
scalped and mangled of Putnam's Party." * 

* Journal of Col. James Montresor in Collections of New 
York Historical Society, 1881. 



1758] Savage Warfare 6i 

On Thursday, July 5th, the soldiers from the provin- 
cial force at Fort Edward, who " were to do Ranging 
duty and no other ' ' during the campaign, were formally 
organised into six companies. " Out of our Regt.," 
says Rufus Putnam, " was Capt. West and Capt. 
Learned, out of Connecticut was Capt. Putnam and 
Capt. Sefford, and out of York forces Capt. Megiuiss, 
out of Rhode Island Capt. Wall." 

The next week Colonel Montresor wrote in his 
journal : 

"Weddesday [July] 13th, Capt Putnam with a Scouting 
party of 100 men went out this morning and sent about 8 o'clock 
a man in to acquaint the General [Webb] that his Party had 
seen about 25 of the Enemy in a Swamp about 4 miles off", but 
he came in soon afterwards himself with an account that they 
had escaped." 

A few days later, Putnam and his rangers were 
stationed on an island not far from Fort Edward. On 
Saturday morning, July 23rd,* they were alarmed by 
the sound of firing. The direction from which it came 
showed that the enemy must be making an attack in 
the vicinity of the fort. Instantly calling to his men 
to follow him, Putnam plunged into the river, waded 
through it, and pressed on with all possible speed to 
assist the garrison with his own force. 

One hundred and fifty men from the fort had been at 
work that morning, cutting timber in the adjoining 
woods. They were guarded by a band of British regu- 
lars, fifty or more in number, who were stationed at the 
head of a swamp, which was thickly covered with 

*This date is given by both Rufus Putnam and Colonel 
Montresor in their journals in describing the attack. Hum- 
phreys makes a mistake in placing this incident after the sur- 
render of Fort William Henry. 



62 Israel Putnam [1757- 

bushes.* A strip of land, formed by the swamp on one 
side and a creek on the other, led to the fort, which lay- 
westward about an hundred rods from the covering 
party. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed from the thickets 
and lodged in the limb of a tree, just above the head of 
one of the sentinels. He immediately gave the alarm, 
and it was soon discovered that a large number of In- 
dians were lying in ambush in the vicinity. The 
workmen started on the retreat to the fort. Then the 
enemy, who had attempted to pick off the sentinels by 
arrows and surprise the whole party, rushed from the 
bushy morassy into which they had stealthily crept dur- 
ing the night, and began a fierce assault with guns and 
tomahawks and their other weapons: This hostile 
force, which the Marquis de Montcalm had sent under 
the command of Marin, consisted of about two hundred 
men, mostly Indians. It was now " about eight o'clock 
in the morning," according to Rufus Putnam, and 
" the}^ fired on our workmen within 80 Rods of the 
Fort." The guard of regulars poured a well-timed 
volley on the enemy and held them in check for a little 
while. 

On his way to the scene of action, Israel Putnam 
passed the fort. The outposts had been called in and 
the gate shut, for the commander there expected that 
the main body of the enemy would make a general as- 
sault upon the fortifications. When Putnam, un- 
daunted by the fact that all who remained outside 
would be left to their fate, was hurrying by with his 



* Humphreys says that Captain Little was in command of the 
covering party of British regulars and also speaks of him as 
Israel Putnam's "friend," but he does not mention Captain 
Learned who is spoken of in Rufus Putnam's account of the 
events of the same day. 



1758] Savage Warfare 6t, 

followers to the assistance of the soldiers who had been 
attacked, General L,yman,* unwilling that more lives 
should be sacrificed, mounted the parapet, and ordered 
him to proceed no farther. But Putnam stopped only 
to make a brief apology and marched on. He soon ar- 
rived at the place where the little band of regulars, with 
the assistance of a few provincials, were holding their 
ground against their savage assailants. Some of the 
workmen had succeed in reaching the fort, and the rest 
of them were defending themselves as best they could. 
After the fighting had lasted about an hour, Israel 
Putnam decided to make a charge with his men into 
the swamp, where the enemy had taken advantage of 
the bushes to conceal themselves when firing. With a 
sudden burst of threatening shouts and yells the whole 
party dashed forward. So unexpected was the onset 
that the Indians recoiled, and then fled in every direc- 
tion. Putnam and his men followed them ; and al- 
though some of the savages tried to rally and there was, 
according to Niles,t " a smart skirmish firing on both 



* Moutresor, iu speakins; of the soldiers who advanced to the 
aid of those who were attacked, says, " Geiil. Lyman with 
another body went also." None of the other accounts, how- 
ever, contain a similar statement. If Lyman did join in the 
fight, he left the fort after Putnam passed by, for, besides the 
story which Humphreys tells of Lyman ordering Putnam not 
to go, we have the record of Rufus Putnam that Captain 
Learned's company was the first on the ground, and Captain 
Putnam and his company arrived next. 

t Rev. Samuel Niles, sometimes called Father Niles (born 
1674, died 1762), who had personal knowledge of many of the 
events which he describes iu his "Summary Historical Nar- 
rative of the Wars in New England with the French and 
Indians." See Collections of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society, Fourth Series, vol. v., p. 439. 



64 Israel Putnam [1757- 

sides about fifteen minutes," all the Indians were 
finally forced to retreat. " Our men," says Niles, 
" behaved gallantly, officers and soldiers; they pursued 
the enemy so warmly, that they recovered several guns 
and some packs." He gives us some idea of the sad 
circumstances relating to those who had fallen while 
bravely resisting the foe. " Captain Waldo drew six 
arrows out of the body of one of his men that was 
killed." The dead, all of them scalped, were eleven 
in number, and two of the several soldiers who were 
wounded died the following night. One man was 
carried away prisoner. It was evident from the ' ' track 
of blood" that the enemy's loss was great, but no 
bodies were found, for, as Niles tells us, " it is the con- 
stant custom of the Indians to hazard their lives to a 
great degree rather than leave their dead behind them. ' ' 
Putnam's invaluable service in the morning seems to 
have redeemed whatever disregard of orders he showed 
by taking part in the fight, for, in the afternoon of the 
same day, he was put in command of two hundred and 
fifty men and sent on the important duty of pursuing 
the enemy. His young relative, Rufus, accompanied 
him and gives the following account : 



" We marched on the Indian trail until sunset ; Captain 
Putnam then ordered three of us to follow the trail a mile or 
more farther and there lie close till it was quite dark, and to 
observe if any came back, ' for,' said he, ' if they do not embark 
in their boats to-night, they will send a party back to see if they 
are pursued.' We went according to orders, but made no dis- 
covery. And here I would remark, that Captain Putnam's pre- 
caution struck my mind very forcibly as a maxim always to be 
observed, whether you are pursuing or pursued by an enemy, 
especially in the woods. It was the first idea of generalship 
that I remember to have treasured up." 



1758] Savage Warfare 65 

On the next day, July 24th, Israel Putnam and his 
rangers returned from the pursuit, " having discovered 
an encampment of about 500 or 600 men near Fort 
Ann." 

The absence of Lord Loudoun, with the best of the 
English troops on the expedition against Louisbourg, 
had given the French just the opportunity they 
wished. Montcalm proposed to seize Fort William 
Henry, to advance against Fort Edward, and devastate 
the country as far as Albany itself. He had been 
active in gathering a great body of Indians, from as far 
east as Acadia and west as Lake Superior, and already 
nearly two thousand savages had responded to his call. 
These allies increased his army to eight thousand men. 

On July 25th, General Webb, who was in chief com- 
mand of the English garrisons, left Fort Edward for 
Lake George, under the escort of Capt. Israel Putnam 
and two hundred men. When the party reached Fort 
William Henry, they found that the rangers had failed 
in several attempts to reconnoitre in the night. Put- 
nam begged to go down Lake George in the daytime, 
land at Northwest Bay with only five men, send back 
the rest of the party with the boats so as to avoid being 
detected, and make the best discoveries he could by 
land of the enemy's position, force, and probable move- 
ments. General Webb thought the plan too hazardous, 
but he finally allowed him to undertake it with eighteen 
volunteers in three whale-boats. 

Before Putnam reached Northwest Bay, he discovered 
men on an island. He decided to carry back the news 
immediately, but, lest he should alarm the enemy, he 
took the precaution to leave two boats behind, with 
orders for the men in them to fish on the lake as if they 
had come solely for that purpose. When General 



66 Israel Putnam [1757- 

Webb saw the one boat hurriedly returning, he sup- 
posed that the others had been captured. He sent a 
skiff to meet it, with instructions for Putnam alone to 
come on shore, and after learning from him that there 
were signs of a hostile force in the vicinity, he re- 
luctantly granted his urgent request to go back to 
obtain more information and to fetch the other boats. 
Having rejoined his men where he had left them, Put- 
nam advanced for further discovery, and saw by the aid 
of a telescope the enemy approaching him on the lake. 
His whale-boats were hotly pursued and barely escaped 
being surrounded by the foremost canoes. On his 
return to General Webb again, Putnam reported that 
the enemy had doubtless gathered their forces for an 
attack on Fort William Henry. The General agreed 
with him in this supposition, ordered him to keep the 
matter secret, and to make ready to accompany him 
back to Fort Edward without delay. Putnam remon- 
strated. " I hope," he said to Webb, in a conversation 
which Humphreys has recorded, " your Excellency 
does not intend to neglect so fair an opportunity of 
giving battle, should the enemy presume to land ? " 
" What do you think we should do here ? " was the 
curt reply of the General, who did not dare to face the 
hostile force. 

On Friday, July 29th, Webb, under escort of the 
company which Putnam commanded, left Fort William 
Henry at noon, and arrived at Fort Edward that 
evening at seven o'clock. He sent a letter at once to 
the Governor of New York, in which he told him that 
the French were certainly coming, and urged him to 
forward the militia. " I am determined," Webb wrote 
at this time, in referring to the necessity of reinforcing 
the earrison of twelve hundred men under Colonel 



I75S] Savage Warfare 67 

Monro, " to march to Fort William Henry with the 
whole army under my command as soon as I shall hear 
of the farther approach of the enemy." 

Three days passed away and then on Tuesday, 
August 2nd, General Webb sent to the lake a detach- 
ment of one thousand men. The reinforcement carried 
valuable baggage and camp equipage, but this was 
against the advice of Israel Putnam, who seems to have 
had a strong premonition of the disaster which was 
to befall Fort William Henry. Eager and solicitous 
as he had been to aid in defending that fort after he 
had discovered the enemy in the vicinity, he must 
have been disappointed, after escorting General Webb 
back to Fort Edward, to be still retained at the latter 
place when the detachment was forwarded. At Fort 
Edward remained also Colonel Montresor and Rufus 
Putnam, and from their journals we learn what Israel 
Putnam himself must have heard and seen, while the 
fort, fourteen miles away, was being besieged. 

"We were alarmed at 5 o'clock in the morning," records 
Montresor, on Wednesday, August 3rd, "with the report of 
Cannon from Fort W™ Henry, two or three shot sometimes 
within a minute or two of one another and sometimes above a 
quarter of an hour & more till 10 o'cl^ The firing increased in 
the afternoon till 6 o'clock. Two of the Rangers brought in a 
French Deserter." 

This Frenchman told of the rapidity with which the 
besiegers had approached and set to work for the in- 
vestment of the fort at the lake. While the siege of 
Fort William Henry was in progress, the soldiers at 
Fort Edward began to strengthen their own defences. 
Israel Putnam shared in these preparations for repelling 
the enemy if they advanced from the lake. A letter 



68 Israel Putnam Ins?- 

arrived, on Thursday, from Colonel Monro for General 
Webb, stating " that the French General sent to him 
to surrender the Fort, but he answered he would defend 
it to the last." The " cannon firing," which the 
soldiers at Fort Edward heard on Friday, ' ' began early 
but distant from one another." It was heavier and 
less intermittent in the afternoon, but ceased at night. 
During that day another message was received from 
Colonel Monro, saying that although his " men were 
in good spirits and of good courage," he must be re- 
inforced. Saturday, the fourth day of the siege, 
began, with " very great firing from 5 o'clock in the 
morning until 8," and now it was " supposed the 
French had erected their Batteries in the night." 
The force at Fort Edward was increased that day by 
the arrival of Sir William Johnson with Indians and 
militia from Albany. General Webb, who, notwith- 
standing the repeated expresses from Colonel Monro, 
had done nothing for his relief, allowed General John- 
son to start for the lake with a reinforcement which 
included a company of rangers under Israel Putnam ; 
but before the detachment had marched three miles 
the order was countermanded, and the men returned. 
It appears that Putnam, when a prisoner in Canada 
the next year, was told by Montcalm himself that the 
movement of these troops towards the lake was reported 
in the French camp by an Indian scout, who, in reply 
to a question regarding the probable number of men 
coming, said, " If you can count the leaves on the trees 
you can count them." The besiegers suspended 
operations and thought seriously of re-embarking, but 
another scout arrived with the news that the English 
detachment had turned back. 

By Monday, August 8th, Colonel Monro and his 



1758] Savage Warfare 69 

men were in a deplorable condition. Their loss, in 
killed and wounded, now numbered more than three 
hundred ; many of the soldiers were ill of smallpox ; 
the rest of the force could make but feeble defence 
against the approaches of the enemy. 

" I^ast night," writes Rufus Putnam, at Fort Edward on 
Tuesday morning. " we saw the signals that were flung up for 
signals of distress at Fort William Henry. The Post also said 
that they had split most of their Cannon, and that they must 
be obliged to give up the Fort, except they had relief from this 
Fort. This express arrived in about ten o'clock [in the morn- 
ing] and before he came in, the Cannon ceased but we know 
not the meaning of it." 

The meaning was that Colonel Monro had surren- 
dered. 

But shortly after the capitulation had been duly 
signed at Lake George, a dreadful tragedy began there. 
The English, being allowed their private effects and 
promising not to serve against the French for eighteen 
months, were to march out of their works with the 
honours of war and be escorted to Fort Edward by a 
detachment of Montcalm's force. No sooner, however, 
had the garrison evacuated the fort and joined the rest 
of the prisoners at the intrenched camp, which was in- 
cluded in the surrender, than the Indian allies of the 
victors got at the English liquor and quickly felt no 
restraint upon their barbarous passions. Some of 
Monro's men, who escaped from the massacre, suc- 
ceeded in reaching Fort Edward. 

There was now great excitement at Fort Edward. 
The savages, for aught the soldiers there knew, might 
be already approaching. General Webb himself was 
as frightened as any of his men, and, giving credence 
to the exaggerated rumours which spread through the 



70 Israel Putnam [1757 

camp, was on the verge of retreating with the garrison. 
Brave Israel Putnam, ready for service, was sent out 
with his rangers to scout, and discovered that there was 
no immediate danger of an attack by the Indians, for 
they had decamped in a body and gone northward, 
taking their plunder and prisoners with them. Mont- 
calm was making no preparations to march with the 
rest of his force against Fort Kdward, but had set his 
soldiers to work demolishing the fort at the lake. 
They were tearing down the barracks, throwing the 
great timbers of the rampart into a heap, and tossing 
the bodies of the English dead onto the mass, for a 
huge pyre. 

Until August 1 6th, the French were occupied in 
devastating at Lake George, and then they re-embarked 
for Montreal. When the terror at the possibility of 
being besieged had been somewhat allayed at Fort 
Edward, cannon were fired at intervals to guide the 
survivors of the massacre, who were still wandering in 
the woods. From day to day they came dropping in, 
and Israel Putnam, after his return from the scouting 
expedition, must have been a witness of the pitiable 
condition of these men who were half dead of fright and 
famine. He must have heard their tales of horror and 
listened also to the tragic experiences of many of his 
comrades, whom the French recovered from the Indians 
and sent with all the other prisoners to Fort Edward. 

After the departure of the French, Israel Putnam 
and his rangers were the first persons upon the scene 
of the massacre. Amid the smouldering ruins of the 
fort was the ghastly sight of half-consumed corpses ; 
and in every direction were shocking evidences of 
barbarity. We can understand the feelings of the 
generous and warm-hearted soldier who looked upon 



1758] Savage Warfare 71 

the " horrid scene of blood and slaughter," where the 
dead victims — men, women, and children, all fiendishly 
mutilated — "afforded a spectacle too horrible for 
description." 

On August 2 1 St, just after he returned from the lake 
to Fort Edward, " Captain Putnam went for eleven days 
scouting." He came in on the 30th, reporting that he 
had been in the vicinity of Ticonderoga. 

During the autumn, Putnam was associated with 
Rogers in the ranging service. 

"In one of these parties," says the latter, "my L,ord Howe 
did us the honour to accompany us, being fond, as he expressed 
himself, to learn our method of marching, ambushing, retreat- 
ing, &c., and upon our return expressed his good opinion of us 
very generously." 

It was on this expedition that there began a friend- 
ship between the young nobleman and Putnam which 
is recorded in the next campaign. 

On November 7th, lyord Loudoun, who had recently 
returned from his bootless Louisbourg expedition, 
arrived at Fort Edward. The provincial soldiers, who 
had been retained to complete the works there, were 
soon ordered to return home. ' Israel Putnam remained 
on duty for the winter. The rangers, with whom he 
continued to serve, " were encamped and quartered in 
huts" on an island in the Hudson River, near the 
garrison left at Fort Edward. This story of his heroic 
and successful exertions in saving Fort Edward from 
fire, at the imminent risk of his own life, is told by 
Humphreys : 

"In the winter of 1757, when Colonel Haviland was Com- 
mandant at Fort Edward, the barracks adjoining to the north- 
west bastion took fire. They extended within twelve feet of the 



72 Israel Putnam [1757- 

niagazine, which contained three hundred barrels of powder. 
On its first discovery, the fire raged with great violence. The 
Commandant endeavoured, in vain, by discharging some pieces 
of heavy artillery against the supporters of this flight of bar- 
racks, to level them with the ground. Putnam arrived from 
the island, where he was stationed, at the moment when the 
blaze approached that end which was contiguous to the maga- 
zine. Instantly, a vigorous attempt was made to extinguish the 
conflagration. A way was opened by a postern gate to the 
river, and the soldiers were employed in bringing water ; which 
he, having mounted on a ladder to the eaves of the building, re- 
ceived and threw upon the flames. It continued, notwithstand- 
ing their utmost eff"orts, to gain upon them. He stood, enveloped 
in smoke, so near the sheet of fire, that a pair of thick blanket 
mittens were burnt entirely from his hands ; he was supplied 
with another pair, dipt in water. Colonel Haviland, fearing 
that he would perish in the flames, called to him to come down. 
But he entreated that he might be suffered to remain, since de- 
struction must inevitably ensue if their exertions should be 
remitted. The gallant Commandant, not less astonished 
than charmed at the boldness of his conduct, forbade any more 
effects to be carried out of the fort, animated the men to re- 
doubled diligence, and exclaimed, ' if we must be blown up, we 
will all go together.' At last, when the barracks were seen to 
be tumbling, Putnam descended, placed himself at the inter- 
val, and continued from an incessant rotation of replenished 
buckets to pour water upon the magazine. The outside planks 
were already consumed by the proximity of the fire, and, as only 
one thickness of timber intervened, the trepidation now became 
general and extreme. Putnam, still undaunted, covered with 
a cloud of cinders, and scorched with the intensity of the heat, 
maintained his position until the fire subsided, and the danger 
was wholly over. He had contended for one hour and a half 
with that terrible element. His legs, his thighs, his arms, and 
his face were blistered; and when he pulled off" his second pair of 
mittens, the skin from his hands and fingers followed them. It 
was a month before he recovered. The Commandant, to whom 
his merits had before endeared him, could not stifle the emotion 
of gratitude, due to the man who had been so instrumental in 
preserving the magazine, the fort, and the garrison." 



1758] 



Savage Warfare 



11 



Towards the end of the winter, Putnam, in condition 
for further service, was sent on an expedition north- 
ward. 

"On Captain Putnam's return," writes Rogers in his journal, 
" we were informed he had ventured within eight miles of the 
French fort at Ticonderoga, and that a party he had sent to 
make discoveries had reported to him, that there were near 600 
Indians not far from the enemy's quarters." 

In the spring of 1758, Putnam made a journey to 
Connecticut to see his family, and to take command of 
the soldiers, recently enlisted in his own colony, over 
whom he had been appointed for the coming campaign. 




■ 1 




M 


m 




S 


J/^5 


p^ 


wC'^ 


1.^ 





CHAPTER VII 



THE ATTACK ON TICONDEROGA 



1758 




UTNAM had been promoted to the rank 
of Major by the General Assembly, 
which met at New Haven in March, 
1758. At this session, Connecticut 
voted to furnish five thousand men for 
the new campaign, a force three times 
larger than that which the colony had sent into the 
field in the spring of 1757. The three expeditions for 
the coming campaign were to be against the same 
French strongholds as in the previous 3'ear. Louis- 
bourg was to be attacked by Major-General Jeffrey 
Amherst, and Fort Duquesne by Brigadier-General John 
Forbes. General James Abercrombie, the Command- 
er-in-chief of all the forces, was to lead a combined 
British and provincial army against Crown Point. It 
was in this last expedition, in which most of the Con- 
necticut men were employed, that Putnam had a part. 
There were fewer delays than usual by the colonies 
in forwarding their troops, and during May the pro- 
vincials, in large numbers, joined the regulars in the 
vicinity of Albany. Detachments, in which were some 
of the Connecticut soldiers, were retained to garrison 

74 



1758] The Attack on Ticonderoga 75 

Stillwater, Saratoga, Fort Miller, and Fort Edward, 
but the men to whom Israel Putnam was assigned were 
among those who were ordered to march with all haste 
to Lake George. Soon on the site of the notable 
events of the war, the defeat of Dieskau and the loss 
of Fort William Henry, were assembled more than nine 
thousand provincials. Near the provincial camp were 
pitched the tent of six thousand regulars. The presence 
of Brigadier-General Lord Howe rather than that of the 
chief commander, Abercrombie, created confidence and 
enthusiasm throughout the whole army. Lord Howe, 
who was now in his thirty-fourth year, was a natural 
leader. " The army felt him, from general to drum- 
mer-boy." He won the respect and affection of all by 
his modesty and common sense, and by the way in 
which he adapted himself to the circumstances of the 
frontier warfare. He improved every opportunity to 
show his special interest in the rangers. His intimacy 
with some of the provincial ofiicers did much toward 
breaking down the strained relations which had ex- 
isted between many of the British regulars and provincial 
soldiers. We can easily understand his warm appre- 
ciation of the frank, generous, intrepid Israel Putnam, 
and how his acquaintance with him ripened into a 
strong friendship. 

By the last week in June all the troops had arrived 
at Lake George. Having declared the capitulation of 
Fort William Henry " null and void," because the 
enemy had broken the terms " by murdering, pillag- 
ing, and captivating" the English, General Aber- 
crombie ordered preparations to be made at once for 
the expedition against Ticonderoga. By seven o'clock 
on the morning of July 5th, the army of more than 
fifteen thousand men had embarked in about nine 



76 Israel Putnam [1758 

hundred bateaux and a hundred and thirty-five whale- 
boats ; a large number of rafts, or heavy flatboats, 
carried the artillery. In the great armament, Israel 
Putnam and many of the soldiers must have shared the 
feelings of one of their number who soon afterwards 
wrote : "I never beheld so delightful a prospect." 
It was a martial spectacle, made brilliant indeed by the 
banners and the music, the uniforms, the plaids of the 
Highlanders, the glittering weapons, the flashing oars, 
the sparkling waters, the background of forests and 
mountains, and all the picturesque beauty of the scene 
on the fair summer day. Before ten o'clock, the fleet 
had passed over the wider part of the lake and had 
entered the Narrows. There the boats were formed 
into files and made a line six miles long, as they ad- 
vanced between the mountains which rose, on either 
hand, from the water's edge. At five in the evening, 
all the troops reached Sabbath-Day Point, twenty-five 
miles down the lake. They waited here until ten 
o'clock. 

During the remainder or the night, the great flotilla 
continued on its journey. At dawn, in passing the 
bare steeps of Rogers Rock, it was watched by a French 
advance party under Langy and Trepezec. When 
the English drew near the northern end of the lake on 
this morning of July 6th, a party including Lord 
Howe, Rogers, Putnam, and other officers, went in 
whale-boats to reconnoitre the landing, and, having 
discovered a detachment of the enemy on the shore, 
drove them off without difficulty. By noon the whole 
army had landed on the west side. 

The bridge at the outlet having been burned by the 
French, Abercrombie decided to advance across the 
plain to Trout Brook, and, by passing round the western 



1758] The Attack on Ticonderoga ']'] 

bank of the river of the outlet, approach the enemy's 
fort. He accordingly ordered Rogers and a party of 
rangers, as well as the Connecticut regiments of Fitch 
and L5'man, to lead the way, while he followed with 
the main army, which was formed in four columns, the 
regulars being in the centre and the provincials on the 
flanks. Israel Putnam, with two hundred rangers, ac- 
companied Lord Howe, who was at the head of the 
principal column. 

The army advanced with the greatest difficulty, and 
soon was " in the strange situation " of being lost in 
the forest, for, to quote from Abercrombie himself, 
** the woods being very thick, impassable with any 
regularity to such a body of men, and the guides un- 
skilful, the troops were bewildered, and the columns 
broke, falling in one upon another." * Suddenly, 
while the soldiers, who had now proceeded about two 
miles from the landing-place, were struggling in the 
maze of trees and thick undergrowth, a sharp chal- 
lenge in French, ' ' Qui vive ? ' ' came from the thickets in 
front of some of the troops. ^' Francais! " replied the 
English, but the enemy were not deceived and began 
firing out of the bushes. This hostile force which the 
army had encountered was none other than the French 
advance party under Langy and Trepezec, about 
three hundred and fifty men in all, who, in retreating 
from Rogers Rock towards Ticonderoga, had also be- 
come confused and for hours had been wandering in 
the forest. They had now fallen in between the main 
body of the English and the detachment consisting of 
Rogers's rangers and the two Connecticut regiments. 



* Letter of Abercrombie to Pitt, in Documents Relating to the 
Colonial History of New York, vol. x., p. 726. 



78 Israel Putnam [1758 

The attack began just in front of the column which 
lyord Howe commanded, and which was a little in 
advance of the three others. 

Humphreys says that the following conversation took 
place : 

" ' Putnam,' said Lord Howe, ' what means that firing? ' ' I 
know not, but, with }'our Lordship's leave, will see,' replied the 
former. 'I will accompany you,' rejoined the gallant young 
nobleman. In vain did Major Putnam attempt to dissuade him 
by saying — ' My Lord, if I am killed the loss of my life will be 
of little consequence, but the preservation of yours is of infinite 
importance to this army.' The only answer was, ' Putnam, your 
life is as dear to you as mine is to me ; I am determined to go.' " 

With a detachment from the main body, Howe and 
Putnam made a rapid movement forward and a hot 
skirmish followed. 

The English troops had been thrown into extreme 
confusion by the suddenness of the attack, but the self- 
possession and bravery of the rangers prevented a 
panic. Although the beloved lyord Howe was the 
first man that fell in the skirmish, the band of wood- 
land warriors under Putnam maintained their ground, 
until by the approach of Rogers and the soldiers with 
him, the enemy were caught between two fires. The 
French fought desperately, but Putnam and his men 
" cut their way obliquely through the enemy's ranks," 
and, being reinforced by Captain Dalzell with twenty 
men, together with a few other troops, made a success- 
ful charge. Only about fifty of the French escaped ; 
nearly one hundred and fifty of them were taken 
prisoners, and the rest were killed in the fight or were 
drowned in trying to swim through the rapids. 

The victory was marred, however, by the serious 
blunder of some of the English soldiers who were op- 



1758] The Attack on Ticonderoga 79 

posite Putnam. Having mistaken his party for the 
enemy, they opened a fierce fire when he and his men 
were advancing, over the dead bodies, towards them, 
to join the left wing of the army. A sergeant and 
several privates with Putnam were killed before he 
succeeded in making the troops aware of their tragic 
error, and this he was able to do only by exposing him- 
self to the greatest peril in running in face of the 
musketry into their ranks. 

Few of the English had been slain in the encounter 
with the French, but the death of lyord Howe was a 
disaster indeed. " A brave and bold commander," 
wrote Rufus Putnam in his journal, " that worthy 
man, my L,ord Howe, who is lamented by us all and 
whose death calls for our revenge." Israel Putnam 
shared deeply in the grief expressed in this and many 
other tributes to the memory of his personal friend, a 
hero so beloved. 

During the remainder of the day and also all the 
following night, the army was kept under arms in the 
forest. Putnam was employed until dark in caring for 
the wounded enemy. He helped in picking them up, 
and gathering them in one place ; he gave them such 
food and drink as he could secure, and furnished each 
of them with a blanket. As an illustration of Put- 
nam's " tender feelings" for the " unfortunate foe," 
Humphreys says that he put three blankets under a 
French sergeant who was badly wounded through the 
body, and placed him in as comfortable a posture as 
possible by the side of a tree. The suffering man, in 
appreciation of this act of forethought, could only 
gratefully press the hand of his benefactor. Putnam 
assured the Frenchman that he would be carried to the 
camp as soon as possible, and would receive the same 



8o Israel Putnam [1758 

care as if he were his brother. In contrast to the 
humanity of Putnam, Humphreys mentions the brutal- 
ity of Rogers, who was sent the next morning in search 
of those of the wounded enemy who had not yet been 
picked up in the forest. He " dispatched to the world 
of spirits " all of those who were unable to help them- 
selves, and thus saved himself the trouble of caring for 
them. Such conduct was not inconsistent with the 
character of Rogers. ' ' As a man, ' ' Parkman has truly 
said of him, " his deserts were small ; as a bush-fighter 
he was beyond reproach." 

After the night spent in the forest, the army was 
marched back on the morning of the 7th to the land- 
ing-place. From there, about eleven o'clock in the 
forenoon, Lieutenant-Colonel Bradstreet advanced with 
a detachment of regulars, provincials, and rangers, and 
on reaching the saw-mill at the Falls, within two miles 
of Ticonderoga, rebuilt the bridges which had been 
destroyed by the retiring enemy. " I accordingly 
marched thither with the troops," writes Abercrombie, 
' ' and we took up our quarters there that night. ' ' The 
soldiers had regained their confidence, and imagined 
themselves victors in the morrow's fight. 

The French, however, were strongly fortifying them- 
selves at Ticonderoga. Their fort there stood near the 
end of the peninsula, which is bounded on the east by 
I^ake Champlain, and on the south and south-west by 
the outlet of I^ake George. In order to protect the 
only approach by land, Montcalm, on the morning of 
July 7th, had set his men to work constructing a 
formidable breastwork on the high ground about a half- 
mile west of the fort. Thousands of trees were felled, 
and the trunks piled one upon another to form a 
massive wall, which began near the wet meadows on the 



1758] The Attack on Ticonderoga 8i 

north and followed the course of the ridge across the 
plateau to the low ground bordering the outlet. From 
these zigzag works, flank-fires of musketry and grape 
could sweep the whole front. Beyond the wall, to the 
distance of a musket-shot, the forest was laid flat and 
the trees, being left where they had been hewn down, 
formed one vast abattis. Immediately in front of the 
breastwork the ground was spread with heavy branches, 
interwoven and projecting outwards with sharpened 
points. This prodigious amount of work had been ac- 
complished in one day. After the arrival of the Eng- 
lish at the saw-mill, Montcalm was strengthening his 
defences still further and making his final arrangements 
for resisting the threatening assault. His total force, 
including a few hundred men brought by Levis on the 
evening of the 7th, was only thirty-six hundred. 

Meanwhile, in the English camp, Abercrombie had 
been deceived by his prisoners into believing that the 
French numbered six thousand men and were hourly 
expecting a large reinforcement. He was eager to 
forestall the enemy's succour by making an attack at 
once, although his cannon had not arrived. Clerk, the 
chief engineer, was sent in the early morning of the 8th 
to reconnoitre the French lines, and returned with 
" favourable reports," as the official account states, " of 
the practicability of carrying these works if attacked be- 
fore they were finished." Then Abercrombie, heedless 
of the warning of Putnam and other ofiScers, who were 
convinced by their own observations as well as wood- 
land experience that the formidable obstructions had 
already been completed, — then Abercrombie, in spite 
of these protests, resolved to storm the French breast- 
works that very day and gave his orders accordingly. 

Soon after noonday, the English van, consisting of 

6 



82 Israel Putnam [1758 

the rangers, the light infantry, and Bradstreet's armed 
boatfnen, issued from the forest into the open space and 
began a scattering fire. They were followed by some 
of the provincial troops, who extended from left to right, 
and joined in the preliminary discharges. Then the 
regulars, in columns and with fixed ba3'onets, adv^anced 
through the openings between the provincial regiments 
and took the lead ; but as they pressed forward to the 
assault, their ranks were broken by the abattis. In 
the confusion, while the soldiers struggled to force their 
way over the fallen trees and projecting limbs, inces- 
sant and murderous fire blazed from the woods in front. 
Officers and men were mowed down by hundreds ; the 
rest returned the fire as best they could, and bravely 
attempted to push close to the breastwork. The maze 
of obstructions and the terrific cross-fires finally com- 
pelled the assailants to fall back, and amid the grape- 
shot and musket-balls which tore the air, they retreated 
from the open space. 

When Abercrombie, who had remained behind at the 
saw-mill, a mile and a half away, learned of the repulse, 
he sent orders for a second assault. Another carnage 
followed, which Parkman has described in graphic 
language : 

"The scene was frightful; masses of infuriated men who 
could not go forward, and would not go back ; straining for an 
enemy they could not reach, and firing on an enemy they could 
not see ; caught in the entanglement of fallen trees ; tripped by 
briers, stumbling over logs, tearing through boughs ; shouting, 
yelling, cursing, and pelted all the while with bullets that 
killed them by scores, stretched them on the ground, or hung 
them on jagged branches in strange attitudes of death. The 
provincials supported the regulars with spirit, and some of them 
forced their way to the foot of the wooden wall." * 

* Montcalm and Wolfe. 



I75S] The Attack on Ticonderoga 83 

The courage of the provincial soldiers, to which Park- 
man refers, was owing in part to the special service 
rendered by Putnam, who assisted in bringing the 
provincial troops successively into action and rallying 
the men in the midst of the fearful conflict. Many of 
them were animated with fresh daring by his own 
intrepidity and pressed forward to renewed exer- 
tions. 

The English made six consecutive assaults between 
one and seven o'clock. Early in the fight, twenty 
bateaux loaded with soldiers were sent by Abercrombie 
down the outlet of Eake George towards the fort, but 
were driven back by the cannon. A column, consist- 
ing of English grenadiers and the Highlanders, at- 
tacked the enemy's right, and " continued charging for 
three hours without retreating or breaking." About 
five o'clock, two columns joined in an assault on a point 
between the French centre and right, and some of the 
soldiers succeeded in hewing their way to the foot of 
the breastwork. But it was all in vain. At length, 
when nearly two thousand of their number were lying 
dead or wounded before the lines, the English were 
forced to retire. An hour and a half longer Israel Put- 
nam remained before the lines, for, until half-past 
seven, the retreat of the main body of troops was 
covered by the rangers, who kept up a continuous fire 
from the edge of the forest, and from behind the stumps 
and bushes. In the dusk of the evening, all the assail- 
ants withdrew, and only the dead and wounded were 
left. During the night, the English made their way 
back to the landing-place. The next morning, Aber- 
crombie, who had decided to make no further attempt 
to capture the French stronghold, ordered all his men 
to embark for the place where Fort William Henry 



84 



Israel Putnam 



[1758 



had once stood. In "great confusion and sorrow" 
they set out on July 9th for the head of the lake, and 
arrived there the same day at sunset. Thus ended a 
most unfortunate expedition. 




CHAPTER VIII 



A PRISONER 



1758 




;FTER the return of the army from the 
disastrous attempt on Ticonderoga, 
Israel Putnam was employed again in 
the ranging service. His exploit in 
escaping down the rapids of the Hud- 
son, in the vicinity of Fort Miller, 
which stood on the western bank of the Hudson River, 
in what is now the town of Northumberland, Saratoga 
County, N. Y., occurred at this period. He chanced 
one day to be on the eastern bank of the river, with five 
companions and a bateau, when he was warned by some 
of his party, who were on the opposite side, that a 
large band of Indians was approaching behind him. 
Knowing that it would be fatal to try either to make a 
stand against overwhelming numbers, or to cross the 
river under fire of the enemy, Putnam bethought him- 
self of going down the rapids, hazardous as such an 
attempt seemed. There was no time to lose. One of 
his men, being a little distance away, unfortunately 
had to be left behind, and was soon afterwards killed by 
the savages. Putnam and the other men had barely 
pushed off in their boats, when they were fired upon. 

85 



86 Israel Putnam [175S 

The current, which bore them be5-ond musket-shot, 
soon became itself extremely dangerous, for it swept 
the bateau with great rapidity among jutting rocks and 
into whirling eddies. The self-possession and skill of 
Putnam saved the boat from being upset or dashed to 
pieces. From his position at the helm, he twice turned 
it fairly round in order to avoid the rocks, and steered 
it through the mad rush of waters until, after a perilous 
course of a quarter of a mile, it cleared the roaring and 
foaming rapids and glided out upon the smooth current 
below. The Indians, who had been watching the boat 
with great astonishment, were filled with superstitious 
reverence for the brave leader who the}' thought must 
be under the special protection of the Great Spirit in 
escaping the bullets, and in taking his companions 
safely down the rapids that had never before been 
passed. 

The rangers were kept very active in reconnoitring 
in every direction, for General Abercrombie was con- 
tinually in fear of a descent upon him by Montcalm. 
The French commander, however, made no forward 
movement from Ticonderoga with his whole army, but 
sent out frequent war parties to watch the English. A 
detachment, which was commanded by lya Corne, left 
the French camp in the latter part of July, and, on the 
27th of the month, surprised and plundered a large 
waggon train on the Fort Edward road. As soon as the 
news of the disaster reached Abercrombie, he ordered 
Rogers, with a force of provincials, light infantry, and 
rangers, to hasten down Lake George in boats, cross 
the mountains to the narrow part of Eake Champlain, 
and intercept the plunderers. Israel Putnam was one 
of these pursuers. They numbered seven hundred 
men in all, and set out at two o'clock in the morning 



I75S] A Prisoner 87 

with all possible speed; but they were too late. " The 
eneni}- had got their canoes and gone off," says Captain 
Holmes, a Connecticut officer, " though not so far but 
that our men heard their shouting, but could not come 
up to them." 

Abercrombie, having learned that other French 
parties were hovering about Fort Edward, sent a 
special messenger to Rogers to cut them off. " I was 
met," writes the latter, who, on July 31st, was return- 
ing to camp after the enemy under I^a Corne had escaped 
him, " by an express from the General with orders to 
march with seven hundred men to South and East Bay 
and return by way of Fort Edward." Rogers accord- 
ingly turned back and made his way to South Bay. 
There he separated his party into two equal divisions, 
one of which was left under the command of Putnam 
at South Bay, while he himself, with the other, took up 
a position twelve miles distant. A few days later, find- 
ing that their stations were discovered by the enemy's 
scouts, the two leaders reunited their forces, and started 
for Fort Edward. The men marched through the forest 
in three divisions by files ; Rogers commanded the right, 
Dalzell the centre, and Putnam the left. On August 
7th, the party reached the place where Whitehall now 
stands, and after advancing ten miles farther south, 
encamped for the coming night on the bank of the 
Clear River, a fork of Wood Creek, before its junction 
with East Creek, and within a mile of Fort Anne. 

On the next morning, Rogers, who was usually ex- 
tremely careful to avoid all possibility of alarming the 
enemy, so far forgot himself, after seeing no signs of a 
hostile force in the vicinity, that he and Lieutenant 
Irwin, of the light infantry, indulged in firing at a 
mark on a wager. " Nothing," says Humphreys, 



88 Israel Putnam [1758 

" could have been more repugnant to the military 
principles of Putnam than such conduct, or reprobated 
by him in more pointed terms." The incautious 
amusement was dearly bought, for four hundred and 
fifty French and Indians were not far away. They 
were commanded by Montcalm's leading partisan, 
Marin. Immediately after the sound reached their 
ears, the enemy reconnoitred and arranged themselves 
in ambush. The trees for nearly a mile from the 
abandoned fort had formerly been hewn down and 
burned, and the open tract, being covered with a dense 
growth of thickets, was traversed only by a narrow 
Indian path. Across this path, Marin's men lay in a 
semicircle, prepared to surprise the English party as it 
approached in single file. 

About seven o'clock, on this morning of August 8th, 
after the wager had been decided and while the bushes 
were still wet with the heavy dew of the night, the 
unsuspicious English decamped. 

"We began our march," Rogers writes, "Major Putnam 
with a party of Provincials marching in the front, my Rangers 
in the rear, Capt. Dalzell with the regulars in the centre, the 
other officers suitably disposed among the men, being in num- 
ber 530, exclusive of officers, a number having by leave returned 
home the day before." 

Putnam, at the head of the long and narrow line, and 
with the Connecticut men under his immediate com- 
mand, had proceeded three-fourths of a mile, and was 
just emerging from the thicket-growth to enter the 
forest beyond, when yells and whoops rent the air, and 
the enemy began a furious onslaught. The surprised 
but undaunted Major halted, returned the fire, and 
passed the word for the other divisions to advance to 



I758J A Prisoner 89 

his support. " I brought my people into as good 
order as possible," says Rogers, who was some distance 
behind, " Capt. Dalzell in the centre, and the rangers 
on the right, with Col. Partridge's light infantry ; on 
the left was Capt. Gidding's, of the Boston troops, with 
his people." * 

Meanwhile, a large and powerful Caughnawaga chief 
had sprung upon the brave leader at the front. In the 
fierce hand-to-hand fight, Putnam pressed the muzzle 
of his gun against his assailant's breast, but the weapon 
missed fire. With a loud war-whoop, the Indian war- 
rior clutched his defenceless victim, and, brandishing 
his hatchet over him, compelled him to surrender. 
Putnam was dragged back into the forest and lashed 
fast to a tree. Then his captor returned to the 
battle. The Connecticut men, deprived of the inspiring 



* Notwithstanding this statement of Rogers, in his Journal, 
p. 122, Humphreys, in his Essay on the Life of Israel Putnam, 
says : " Rogers came not up ; but, as he declared afterwards, 
formed a circular file between our party and Wood-Creek, to 
prevent their being taken in rear or enfiladed. Successful as 
he commonly was, his conduct did not always pass without un- 
favourable imputation. Notwithstanding, it was a current say- 
ing in the camp, ' that Rogers always sent, but Putnam led, his 
men to action,' yet, in justice, it ought to be remarked here, 
that the latter has never been known, in relating the story of 
this day's disaster, to affix any stigma upon the conduct of the 
former." 

Parkman, in commenting on this passage, says in his Mont- 
calm aftd Wolfe: "Humphreys, the biographer of Putnam, 
blames Rogers severely for not coming at once to the aid of the 
Connecticut men ; but two of their captains declare that he 
came with all possible speed ; while a regular officer present, 
highly praised him to Abercrombie for cool and officer-like 
conduct. Letter from the Camp at Lake George, 5 Sept., 1758^ 
signed by Captains Maynard and Giddings." 



90 Israel Putnam [1758 

presence of their principal officer, had retreated among 
the thickets in confusion, but were soon reinforced by 
the men who had pressed their way through the bushes 
and briery undergrowth from the rear. Having quickly 
rallied with this aid, they checked the advancing 
enemy. Indeed, they succeeded in forcing them back 
beyond the spot where the action had begun. Owing 
to this change of battle-ground, the tree to which Put- 
nam was tied was directly between the fires of the com- 
batants. The account by Humphreys of the prisoner's 
perilous experiences is of special interest, not only be- 
cause he had the facts from Putnam himself, but also 
because, as the historian Parkman says, he seems to 
give the story with substantial correctness. His ver- 
sion — the earliest that we have — must be the basis of 
any other account. Humphreys describes Putnam's 
helplessness during the battle thus : 

"The balls flew incessantly from either side, many struck 
the tree, while some passed through the sleeves and skirts of 
his coat. In this state of jeopardy, unable to move his body, 
or to stir his limbs, or even to incline bis head, he remained 
more than an hour. So equally balanced, and so obstinate was 
the fight ! At one moment, while the battle swerved in favour 
of the enemy, a young savage chose an odd way of discovering 
his humour. He found Putnam bound. He might have dis- 
patched him at a blow. But he loved better to excite the ter- 
rors of the prisoner, by hurling a tomahawk at his head, or 
rather it should seem that his object was to see how near he 
could throw it without touching him — the weapon struck in the 
tree a number of times at hair's breadth distance from the mark. 
When the Indian had finished his amusement, a French bas- 
officer (a much more inveterate savage by nature, though de- 
scended from so humane and polished a nation) perceiving 
Putnam, came up to him, and, levelling a fuzee within a foot 
of his breast, attempted to discharge it — it missed fire. In- 
effectually did the intended victim solicit the treatment due to 




TRADITION SAYS THIS IS THE TREE TO WHICH PUTNAM WAS TIED 
AFTER HE WAS CAPTURED BY THE INDIANS IN AUGUST, 1758. 



175S] A Prisoner 9t 

his situation by repeating that he was a prisoner of war. The 
degenerate Frenchman did not understand the language of 
honour or of nature : deaf to their voice, and dead to sensibility, 
he violently, and repeatedly, pushed the muzzle of his gun 
against Putnam's ribs, and finally gave him a cruel blow on the 
jaw with the butt-end of his piece. After this dastardly deed 
he left him." 

In the battle that raged not far away, the scene of 
which had again shifted, the English were still making 
a heroic resistance. Some of them fought in open 
view ; others fired from behind trees. At last the 
Canadians gave way, sixty of them deserting Marin at 
a critical moment. " This somewhat astonished the 
Indians," according to the French account of the 
battle, " and prevented that brave officer from deriving 
all the advantage from the circumstance." Having 
found that more of his men were leaving him and that 
" the English were too numerous to be forced," Marin 
ordered his wounded to be removed and withdrew all 
his force. The battle had lasted almost two hours,* 
Forty-nine of the English had been killed. It was re- 
ported soon afterwards that the enemy lost more than 
twice that number. The English buried all their own 
dead and made litters of branches with which to carry 
their wounded comrades. Then they restimed the 
march southward which had been tragically inter- 
rupted, and reached Fort Edward the next day. 

*The principal authorities for the battle itself are : Journals 
of Major Robert Rogers, pp. 121-123 ; Documents Relating to 
the Colonial History of the State of New York, vol. x. ; Malartic, 
Journal du Regiment de Bearn ; De l^€v\s, Jotirnal de la Guerre 
en Cattada ; Recollections of Thomas Maxwell, a soldier present ; 
Historical Collections of the Essex Institute, vol. vii., p. 97; 
Gentleman's Magazine, 1758, p. 498; Letters from camp in 
Boston Gazette, No. 117; New Hampshire Gazette, No. 104. 



92 Israel Putnam [1758 

Putnam in the meantime was faring ill in the hands 
of savages. For his adventures in captivity, Hum- 
phreys again is the authority. This is the story of what 
happened at the close of the battle, as he recorded it 
from the hero's own narration : 

" As they [the enemy] were retiring, Putnam was untied by 
the Indian who had made him prisoner, and whom he after- 
wards called master. Having been conducted for some distance 
from the place of action, he was stripped of his coat, vest, 
stockings and shoes ; loaded with as many of the packs of the 
wounded as could be piled upon him ; strongly pinioned, and 
his wrists tied as closely together as they could be pulled with 
a cord. After he had marched through no pleasant paths in 
this painful manner, for many a tedious mile, the party (who 
were excessively fatigued) halted to breathe. His hands were 
now immoderately swelled from the tightness of the ligature ; 
and the pain had become intolerable. His feet were so much 
scratched, that the blood dropped fast from them. Exhausted 
with bearing a burden above his strength, and frantic with tor- 
ments exquisite beyond endurance, he entreated the Irish in- 
terpreter to implore, as the last and only grace he desired of the 
savages, that the}' would knock him on the head and take his 
scalp at once, or loose his hands. A French officer, instantly 
interposing, ordered his hands to be unbound and some of the 
packs to be taken off. By this time the Indian who captured 
him and who had been absent with the wounded, coming up, 
gave him a pair of moccasins, and expressed great indignation 
at the unworthy treatment his prisoner had suffered. That 
savage chief again returned to the care of the wounded, and the 
Indians, about two hundred in number, went before the rest of 
the party to the place where the whole were that night to 
encamp. They took with them Major Putnam, on whom, be- 
sides innumerable other outrages, they had the barbarity to 
inflict a deep wound with a tomahawk, in the left cheek." 

The mark of this blow Putnam is said to have borne 
through life. " A deep scar on the cheek of that 
veteran warrior," says Abiel Holmes in his An?ia/s of 



1758] A Prisoner 93 

America, in referring to this incident, " is well remem- 
bered by the writer, who believes it was the wound 
inflicted by the tomahawk," 

Now comes the most tragic scene of the daj' in Put- 
nam's eventful captivity. We can easily imagine the 
absorbing interest with which Humphreys listened to 
the tale of ' ' horror. ' ' He has given us this description 
of what the Indians planned for their victim : 

" It was determiued to roast him alive. For this purpose 
they led him into a dark forest, stripped him naked, bound 
him to a tree, and piled dry brush, with other fuel, at a small 
distance, in a circle round him. They accompanied their la- 
bours, as if for his funeral dirge, with screams and sounds in- 
imitable but by savage voices. Then they set the piles on fire. 
A sudden shower damped the rising flame. Still they strove to 
kindle it, until, at last, the blaze ran fiercely round the circle. 
Major Putnam soon began to feel the scorching heat. His 
hands were so tied that he could move his body. He often 
shifted sides as the fire approached. This sight, at the very 
idea of which all but savages must shudder, afforded the high- 
est diversion to his inhuman tormentors, who demonstrated the 
delirium of their joy by correspondent yells, dances, and gest- 
iculations. He saw clearly that his final hour was inevitably 
come. He summoned all his resolution and composed his 
mind, as far as the circumstances could admit, to bid an eter- 
nal farewell to all he held most dear. To quit the world would 
scarcely have cost a single pang but for the idea of home, for 
the remembrance of domestic endearments, of the affectionate 
partner of his soul, and of their beloved offspring." 

On this very day when Putnam was threatened by a 
most cruel fate, when his thoughts turned towards his 
wife and children, there occurred a pathetic coincidence. 
Death entered his distant home. The sad fact appears 
on the old gravestone in the cemetery at Brooklyn, 
Connecticut: 



94 Israel Putnam [1758 

"In Memory of M'. Daniel Putnam, son of Col? Israel Put- 
nam & Mrs. Hannah his wife, who died Aug. 8th, 1758, Aged 
17 years." 

Unexpected deliverance came to Putnam in his 
torturous and dire situation, for — to continue the early 
narrative — 

"a French ofl&cer rushed through the crowd, opened a way by 
scattering the burning brands and unbound the victim. It was 
Molang [Marin] himself — to whom a savage, unwilling to see 
another human sacrifice immolated, had run and communicated 
the tidings. That commandant spurned and severely repri- 
manded the barbarians, whose nocturnal powwas and hellish 
orgies he suddenly ended. Putnam did not want for feeling or 
gratitude. The French commander, fearing to trust him aloue 
with them, remained until he could deliver him in safety into 
the hands of his master." 

Judge Samuel Putnam, in writing about this advent- 
ure which the hero himself once recounted to him, 
says that the rescuer was ' ' one of the tribe, a chief 
who had once been a prisoner of Putnam and treated 
kindly by him." This seems to refer to the Indian 
whom Humphreys mentions as carrying the news to 
Marin of what was going on in the forest. There is 
an interesting tradition among Freemasons that Put- 
nam, as a member of the secret order, gave in his great 
peril the sign of distress, which, on being recognised by 
a person present who belonged to the fraternity, led to 
his rescue. 

The story of how Putnam spent the night after his 
strange experience is told by Humphreys in the follow- 
ing paragraph, in which we learn that although the 
Caughnawaga chief, " the master," showed unusual 
regard for his captive, he subjected him to the ordinary 



1758] A Prisoner 95 

Indian mode of securing prisoners by binding him in 
the form of a St. Andrew's cross : 

"The savage approached his prisoner kindly, and seemed to 
treat him with particular affection. He offered him some hard 
biscuit ; but finding that he could not chew them, on account 
of the blow he had received from the Frenchman, this more 
humane savage soaked some of the biscuit in water, and made 
him suck the pulp-like part. Determined, however, not to 
lose his captive (the refreshment being finished) he took the 
moccasins from his feet and tied them to one of his wrists ; 
then directing him to lie down on his back upon the bare 
ground, he stretched one arm to its full length, and bound it 
fast to a young tree ; the other arm was extended and bound in 
the same manner — his legs were stretched apart and fastened 
to two saplings. Then a number of tall but slender poles were 
cut down, which, with some long bushes, were laid across his 
body from head to foot ; on each side lay as many Indians as 
could conveniently find lodging, in order to prevent the possi- 
bility of his escape. In this disagreeable and painful posture 
he remained until morning. During this night, the longest 
and most dreary conceivable, our hero used to relate that he 
felt a ray of cheerfulness come casually across his mind, and 
could not even refrain from smiling when he reflected on this 
ludicrous group for a painter, of which he himself was the 
principal figure." 

Putnam's journey on August gth with his captor and 
his arrival at the French fort are recorded by Hum- 
phreys thus : 

"The next day he was allowed his blanket and moccasins 
and permitted to march without carrying any pack or receiv- 
ing any insult. To allay his extreme hunger, a little bear's 
meat was given, which he sucked through his teeth. At night 
the party arrived at Ticonderoga and the prisoner was placed 
under the care of a French guard. The savages, who had been 
prevented from glutting their diabolical thirst for blood, took 
every opportunity of manifesting their malevolence for the 
disappointment by horrid grimaces and angry gestures ; but 



96 Israel Putnam [1758 

they were suffered no more to offer violence or personal indig- 
nity to him." 

Within a week after Putnam was captured, the gar- 
rison at Fort Edward received news of him and other 
prisoners, according to Captain David Hohnes's Orderly 
Book : " Aug. 14. By a flag of truce, informed that 
Major Putnam, Lieut. Tracy and 3 others, were carried 
without wounds into Fort Caroline [Ticonderoga]." 
But Holmes — a friend of Putnam, and he was also an 
oflScer from the same colony — and the other soldiers 
did not hear at that time of the brutal treatment which 
their brave Connecticut comrade had undergone. 

Into the presence of Montcalm Putnam was led at 
Ticonderoga. Each must have regarded the other with 
special interest. Here was the commander about 
whom Putnam had heard so much, the ablest French 
general in America, who is described as " a man of 
small stature, rapid, vehement utterance, and nervous 
gesticulation." As for the prisoner whom Montcalm 
saw before him, his tattered, scratched, scorched, and 
bruised condition plainly told of the painful experiences 
through which he had passed. After being questioned, 
Putnam was given into the custody of a French officer, 
who received orders to conduct him to Montreal. On 
the journey thither, the Frenchman treated his charge 
with the " greatest indulgence and humanity." 

Among the English prisoners already at Montreal 
was Colonel Peter Schuyler of New Jersey, who, as soon 
as he heard of the arrival of a provincial major recently 
taken, went to the interpreter's quarters and inquired 
solicitously about him. 

"He found Major Putnam," says Humphreys, "in a com- 
fortless condition — without coat, waistcoat, or hose — the rem- 
nant of his clothing miserably dirty and ragged — his beard long 



1758] A Prisoner 97 

and squalid — his legs torn by thorns and briars — his face gashed 
with wounds and swollen with bruises." 



Colonel Schuyler was not only indignant on finding 
his fellow-prisoner in such a sorry plight, but also 
showed his sympathy for him at once, attending per- 
sonally to his needs by supplying him with clothing 
and money. 

The weariness of captivity was relieved for Putnam 
at Montreal by the privilege of staying at the house of 
Colonel Schuyler, whose wealth and military rank 
were respected by the French by special favours. But 
Putnam was soon transferred to Quebec. He was 
there the last of August, according to a letter written 
from Quebec on the 31st of that month by a French 
officer, who in speaking of the English whom Marin 
had captured on the 8th said, " Two of them, officers, 
are now here." 

The military affairs of the English took a very favour- 
able turn during the campaign. The summer was 
almost ended when Abercrombie's army, near the 
soitthern end of Eake George, was cheered not only 
by tidings of the fall of Eouisbourg but also by the 
"glorious piece of news" that Lieutenant-Colonel 
Bradstreet, who had been sent against Fort Frontenac 
on the northern shore of Eake Ontario, had reduced 
that important French post on August 27th. How 
soon Putnam himself heard of these English successes 
we do not know. The surrender of Fort Frontenac 
proved of much importance to him personally, for his 
own release was the consequence. 

In October, 1758, General Abercrombie and the 
Marquis de Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada, were in 

correspondence in regard to an exchange of the 

7 



98 Israel Putnam [1758 

prisoners. It was decided that Colonel Schuyler, who 
was himself to be exchanged for De Noyan, the cap- 
tured commandant of Fort Frontenac, should be en- 
trusted with the arrangement of all details on the 
English side. 

"I am pleased, Sir," wrote Vaudreuil to Abercronibie on 
October 19th from Montreal, "that you have authorised Colonel 
Schuyler to negotiate an exchange of the prisoners in question 
with me. I have written to him that he was at liberty to go to 
town for that purpose ; he will be present himself at Quebec." * 

Two weeks later, when the list of English prisoners to 
be exchanged had been made out, the same writer said 
in a letter to a French official, " I have paid particular 
attention to retaining those who appeared to me the 
most suspicious." 

But Vaudreuil had unwittingly consented to the 
liberation of one who had been of invaluable service to 
the English. Putnam's name was on the list by a 
stratagem of the officer who had already befriended 
him in need. This is Humphreys's story of Schu5der's 
' ' j ustifiable finesse " : 

"Apprehensive if it should be known that Putnam was a dis- 
tinguished partisan his liberation might be retarded, and know- 
ing that there were officers who, from the length of their 
captivity, had a claim of priority to exchange, he had by his 
happy address induced the governor to offer that whatever 
officer he might think proper to nominate should be included 
in the present cartel. With great politeness in manner, but 
seeming indifference as to object, he expressed his warmest 
acknowledgments to the governor and said, 'There is an old 
man here who is a Provincial Major, and wishes to be at home 
with his wife and children ; he can do no good here or any- 



'^ Documents relating to the Colonial History of New York, 
vol. X. 



1758] A Prisoner 99 

where else ; I believe your Excellency had better keep some of 
the young men, who have no wife or children to care for, and 
let the old fellow go home with me.' " 

The aged prisoner whose freedom was thus obtained 
was just forty years old ! 

Nearly a hundred and fifty persons, including offi- 
cers, soldiers, sailors, labourers, women, and children, 
were to be exchanged by the French for an equal num- 
ber of their own countrymen.* Colonel Schuyler with 
some of the liberated prisoners preceded the others on 
the way back to Fort Edward, but before he set out 
from Montreal he commended to Putnam's care on the 
homeward journe}^ Mrs. Jemima Howe and her child- 
ren. This New England widow, whose husband, 
Caleb Howe, was murdered by Indians in 1755, had 
been, like many other persons in captivity, the object of 
Schuyler's special sympathy and charity, and welcomed 
at his house. It was there that Putnam became ac- 
quainted with her. He heard from Mrs. Howe's own 
lips her pathetic story: how, on a July evening three 
years before, she, with her seven children, one an in- 
fant of six months, and the wives of Hilkiah Grout 
and Benjamin Gaffield, with their own little ones, 
were in the fort in which the three families lived at 
Hinsdale, New Hampshire ; how, while they were ex- 
pecting their husbands home from the day's work in 
the cornfield, they were startled by the firing of guns ; 
how they soon heard footsteps approaching and thought 
the men were returning ; how they hastily opened the 



* In the "List of English prisoners who are going up from 
Quebec to Montreal to contribute to the exchange," which may 
be found among the New York colonial manuscripts, Putnam's 
name is curiously spelled thus : " Polman, Captain-Major in the 
New England Regiment." 
L.ofC. 



loo Israel Putnam [1758 

gate to receive them, but only to find to their utter and 
dreadful surprise that they had admitted savages; then 
the piteous sequel, how all in the fort were hurried 
away captives, and compelled to travel on foot to Can- 
ada by way of Crown Point, — how she was herself 
separated from her children and sold to a French officer 
named Saccapee, who as well as his son treated her dis- 
honourably ; finally, how Colonel Schuyler, to whom 
she applied for help, succeeded in obtaining not only 
her own freedom but also that of three of her sons, and 
how two more children were restored to her. 

In November Putnam started homeward with the 
family entrusted to him. The younger Saccapee is 
said to have followed them a part of the way, much to 
the alarm of Mrs. Howe. She was, however, gallantly 
defended, for Putnam " informed the young officer 
that he should protect that lady at the risk of his life." 
Of the same guardian on that long journey from Can- 
ada " through an inhospitable wilderness," we have 
this picture in Humphreys's quaint style : 

"There were a thousand good offices which the helplessness 
of her [Mrs. Howe's] condition demanded, and which the 
gentleness of his nature delighted to perform. He assisted in 
leading her little ones, and in carrying them over the swampy 
grounds and runs of water with which their course was fre- 
quently intersected. He mingled his own mess with that of 
the widow and the fatherless, and assisted them in supplying 
and preparing their provisions. Upon arriving within the 
settlements they experienced a reciprocal regret at separation, 
and were only consoled by the expectation of soon mingling 
in the embraces of their former acquaintances and dearest 
connections." 

That was an affectionate reunion indeed in Putnam's 
own home. If the wife had already heard that her 



I758J A Prisoner loi 

soldier husband had been taken prisoner, how full of 
intense suspense must the hours and days have been 
for her. Even if the news of his great misfortune had 
not reached her, her heart had been heavy with solici- 
tude for his safety. With the gladness of Putnam's 
return was mingled sorrow for the missing one, and 
now he heard the details of Daniel's illness and death. 
We can see the family group, — the hero with his wife 
by his side, little Eunice in his arms, and gathered 
about him the four young girls and sturdy lad Israel. 
Eagerly must Putnam have listened to what had hap- 
pened in his absence ; and often during the winter, his 
adventures in the memorable campaign must have 
been the subject of breathless attention in the home 
circle and at the neighbouring firesides. 




CHAPTER IX 

THRKE MORE CAMPAIGNS 
1759-1761 



M <.nwii.iiMrf-Mi-ir.nL; i i.; i M r .yg 




gli-)u-n.-',ii-':.--.'-.L-ii'-,i-T-i i M ]^ 



OTWITHSTANDING his severe ex- 
periences, Putnam was ready to accept 
his appointment by the General As- 
sembly of his colony as Lieutenant- 

Colonel in the Fourth Regiment 

(Colonel Fitch's), which, together 
with the other Connecticut troops, was to be employed, 
in 1759, in another expedition against Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point. The Commander-in-chief for the 
new campaign was Sir Jeffrey Amherst, who had been 
so successful in capturing I,ouisbourg, It was decided 
that General James Wolfe should advance up the St. 
Lawrence and lay siege to Quebec as soon as the river 
was free from ice, and that Amherst himself, after lead- 
ing the grand central advance against Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, should proceed with his army down the 
Richelieu to the St. Lawrence and join Wolfe before the 
walls of Quebec. In May, Putnam must have been at 
Albany, for the soldiers gathered during that month at 
this rendezvous of former years. Before the ist of 
July, General Amherst had advanced with about 
eleven thousand men, half regulars and half provin- 



[1759-60 Three More Campaigns 103 

cials, to the southern end of I^ake George. There the 
troops were busily employed in cutting down and burn- 
ing trees on both sides of the Fort Edward road ; in 
building fortified posts along it at intervals of three or 
four miles, especially at the station known as Half-way 
Brook ; in beginning a fort on the low, flat, rocky hill 
where, during the siege of Fort William Henry, the 
English had an intrenched camp; in transporting stores 
and cannon from Fort Edward ; and in constructing 
bateaux and other craft for the expedition. Some of 
this varied work was assigned to the Connecticut regi- 
ment, of which Israel Putnam was second in command. 

The English remained nearly a month at the head of 
Eake George before moving forward. On the morning 
of July 2ist, the whole army embarked for Ticonderoga. 
And now Israel Putnam witnessed an imposing spec- 
tacle similar to that of the preceding year. Again the 
banners and music and arms and uniforms made a 
brilliant military pageant, as the great flotilla moved 
over the blue surface of the lake amid the picturesque 
summer scenery. When the day drew to a close, the 
troops had reached the vicinity of the outlet. There 
they passed a disagreeable night, being tossed on the 
waves raised by a summer gale. The next day the 
army " landed without opposition," according to Gen- 
eral Amherst, " and proceeded to the Saw Mills, and 
took post on the commanding grounds, meeting only a 
trifling opposition from the enemy." " We lay on our 
arms all night," adds the Commander-in-chief, " and 
early on the 23rd we continued our march." 

Soon the English reached the famous works before 
which Abercrombie's army had been terribly repulsed 
the year before. The French now made no attempt 
to defend the line of intrenchment which had been 



104 Israel Putnam [1759- 

reconstructed partly of earth and partly of logs, but re- 
treated within the fort beyond and opened fire from 
there. The English, however, found protection from 
the guns by encamping along the front of the intrench- 
ment which the French had abandoned. 

Israel Putnam commanded in person some of the pro- 
vincials who were employed in bringing up the artillery 
and stores. He must have been impressed by the con- 
trast between the present method of moving against 
Ticonderoga and that adopted the summer before by 
Abercrombie. The prudent and resolute Amherst, 
aware of the principal causes of his predecessor's fail- 
ure, carefully reconnoitred the French position and 
waited until his cannon and requisite munitions of war 
had arrived. Then he began approaches in form. 

The enemy's force, which numbered between two and 
three thousand men, was commanded by the Chevalier 
de Bourlamaque. On the night of July 23rd, this 
French officer suddenly retreated with the main body 
of his troops down L,ake Champlain, leaving several 
hundred men within the fort to keep up a brisk fire 
with cannon and mortars on the English. Meanwhile, 
the besiegers were busily engaged in preparations for 
an assault. Putnam was one of the most active oSicers 
in driving forward the works. 

On the night of July 26th, after the batteries were 
finished and were in readiness to open at break of 
day, three French deserters arrived in the English 
camp, excitedly announcing that the garrison was 
abandoning Ticonderoga and that a slow match at- 
tached to the magazine was already lighted to blow the 
fort to atoms. The report of the retreat was not alto- 
gether a surprise, for a suspicious movement of the 
garrison had been detected at dusk. Before midnight 



105 



nd terrific 
interval ; 
^^'.ad been 
id into 




104 

reconstructe 
treated wit 
there. T^ 
the guns 
ment wh 
Israel 
vincial.' 
and st' 
trast 

t: 

Al 
awi 
ure, 
waitecl 
--^ ar' 



-I 



i76i] Three More Campaigns 105 

the explosion occurred. The glaring flash and terrific 
roar were succeeded by a brief, breathless interval ; 
then came the sound of fragments, which had been 
hurled into the air, falling on the ground and into 
the lake. Only one bastion, however, had been blown 
up The main part of the fort was little injured, but 
the barracks and other inflammable portions had 
caught fire. 

As soon as the powder magazine had spent itself, 
Amherst ordered men forward into the fort, but, ac- 
cording to one of them, " three-fourths" of the bar- 
racks were burnt " before we could extinguish the 
flames." With what great interest Israel Putnam 
must have examined the redoubted stronghold which 
had at last been captured ! Soldiers were immediately 
set to work repairing the damages from the explosion 
and rebuilding the parts of the fort destroyed by the 
fire, and Putnam was given the oversight of some of 
these labourers. 

Within a week after entering Ticonderoga, the Eng- 
lish were informed by scouts that the French had 
abandoned Crown Point also. Amherst accordingly 
advanced to that place with a part of his army. He 
planned at once for new works there, because the French 
fort, built many years before, was so dilapidated that 
it seemed unwise to repair it. He chose a more com- 
manding site, about six hundred feet south-west of the 
old fort, and began an extensive stronghold, the ruins 
of which may still be seen. In this task, Israel Put- 
nam, who had accompanied the force from Ticon- 
deroga, was employed during the remainder of the 
summer and into the autumn, superintending the 
parties which were detached to procure timber and 
other materials for the fortification. 



io6 Israel Putnam [1759- 

While the army was busily occupied in building and 
strengthening the strongholds on Lake George, rumours 
of the success of other English expeditions of 1759 were 
confirmed. Israel Putnam now heard in more detail 
how General Prideaux had been killed in the trenches 
by a cannon-ball, while his army was besieging Fort 
Niagara; howSir William Johnson, who had succeeded 
to the command, had routed, on July 24th, a reinforce- 
ment sent to the relief of the French garrison, and how 
on the next day he had captured the fort. Soon came 
more thrilling tidings, how the gallant Wolfe, with 
nearly five thousand men, had scaled the Heights of 
Abraham on the night of September 12th ; how the 
astonished Montcalm, beholding at dawn the ranks of 
redcoats on the Plains, had ordered his troops into 
action that morning ; how in the fierce pitched battle, 
Wolfe, like Montcalm, had fallen mortally wounded, 
and how victory had finally crowned the English arms 
at Quebec. The French possessions in Canada were 
reduced in 1759 to the narrow strip of territory on the 
St. Lawrence between Jacques Cartier and Kingston. 
The only important posts remaining for the English to 
capture were Montreal and Isle-aux-Noix, but all at- 
tempts against these places were postponed to the next 
campaign. 

When military operations were suspended for the 
winter, Putnam returned home. His infant son, born 
November i8th of this year (1759), was named Daniel, 
in tender memory of that other son Daniel who died 
on the eventful August day, fifteen months before, 
when the father himself was face to face with death. 

The campaign of 1760 opened auspiciously for the 
English. Encouraged bj^ the successes of the preced- 
ing year, the colonists in general felt that the final 



i76i] Three More Campaigns 107 

blow against the French power in Canada would soon 
be struck. They responded, therefore, more readily to 
the call for troops. General Amherst, still Commander- 
in-chief of all the English troops in America, received 
instructions early in 1760 from King George to proceed 
to the vigorous attack of Montreal. He accordingly 
planned to concentrate his forces from three directions, 
east, south, and west, for the " great and essential ob- 
ject." General James Murray, who after the death of 
Wolfe had succeeded to the command of the army at 
Quebec, was to advance up the St. L,awrence River from 
that captured city; at the same time, Brigadier-General 
William Haviland was to take the L,ake Champlain 
course to Montreal, which Amherst had attempted in 
the preceding campaign, and reduce Isle-aux-Noix on 
the way ; meanwhile the Commander-in-chief himself 
was to lead the main army down the St Lawrence from 
Lake Ontario, and join Murray and Haviland in front 
of Montreal. 

The Connecticut troops formed a part of the force 
which Amherst commanded in person. The soldiers 
for this expedition began to assemble in May at Al- 
bany. There Putnam arrived from Pomfret after the 
few weeks spent at home. The route of Amherst's 
men was from Albany to Schenectady, up the Mohawk 
River to Fort Stanwix on the Great Carrying Place, 
across Oneida Lake and down the Onondaga River to 
Oswego. It was two months from the time that the 
first troops left Albany in June until all of them reached 
the shore of Lake Ontario and were ready to embark. 
They numbered more than ten thousand in all. 

On August 7th, the first division of the army left 
Oswego, led by Colonel Haldimand. Two days later 
General Amherst set out with the second division, 



io8 Israel Putnam [1759- 

consisting of the Royal Artillerj-, regulars, and some of 
the Indians. The rest of the troops followed on August 
12th. Putnam was in this last division. It included 
eight battalions of provincials from New York, New 
Jersey, and Connecticut, and was under Brigadier- 
General Thomas Gage. Between this officer and Israel 
Putnam there grew up a friendship which extended 
into the American Rev'olution, although in the latter 
war Gage was general-in-chief on the British side. 

On the morning of August 15th, the three divisions 
of the army afloat neared the north-eastern end of Lake 
Ontario. There they encountered the French vessel 
Otiaica. She appears to have been the second war-ship 
to threaten destruction to the English force after it 
entered the St. Lawrence River. When the first one, 
which mounted twelve guns, hove in sight on August 
i6th, General Amherst was in great distress. His own 
armed vessels, under Captain Loring, had lingered be- 
hind, having become bewildered among the channels 
of the Thousand Islands ; and the enemy's ship was 
capable of making serious havoc among the bateaux 
and whaleboats. In this emergency, Putnam's in- 
genuity and daring were of great service to his com- 
mander, according to the following anecdote quoted 
from Almoti's Remembrancer for 1775: 

"While he [Amherst] was pondering what should be done, 
Putnam comes to him and says, ' General, that ship must be 
taken.' 'Aye,' says Amherst, ' I would give the world she was 
taken.' 'I'll take her,' says Putnam. Amherst smiled and 
asked how? ' Give me some wedges, a beetle (a large wood 
hammer or maul, used for dri\nng wedges), and a few men of 
my own choice.' Amherst could not conceive how an armed 
vessel was to be taken by four or five men, a beetle, and wedges. 
However, he granted Putnam's request. Wlien night came, 
Putnam, with his materials and men, went iu a boat under the 



i76i] Three More Campaigns 109 

vessel's stern and in an instant drove in the wedges behind the 
rudder in the little cavity between the rudder and ship and left 
her. In the morning the sails were seen fluttering about ; she 
was adrift in the middle of the lake, and beisg presently blown 
ashore was easily taken." 

This anecdote of the beetle and wedges is considered 
reliable by John Fiske *; and other trustworthy Ameri- 
can historians are of the same opinion. The ship, 
which was thus disabled in the night by the bold pro- 
vincial officer, is said to have surrendered on the ap- 
proach of a thousand men whom Putnam had ordered 
to move swiftly forward in fifty bateaux in order to 
board her. 

On the same morning the other French war-ship, the 
Ottawa, was attacked by the English and captured. 
Although Putnam's name is not mentioned in the ac- 
counts of this victory, he doubtless took some part in 
it. He seems to have at least planned to wedge the 
rudder of the Ottawa also ; and the naval success had 
been made possible by the capture of the first ship. 

The surrender of the two French vessels uncovered 
Fort Levis, which had been built the year before. It 
stood on Isle Royale in the midchannel of the St. 
Lawrence, near the head of the rapids, a short distance 
below Oswegatchie. Amherst determined to take the 
fortification, for he wished to leave no post of the enemy 
in his rear, and he expected to find among the garrison 
pilots who could guide his boats down the rapids. The 
siege was accordingly begun within a few hours after 
the naval victory. The whole army moved down to 
Oswegatchie and encamped there in the afternoon of 



* Article on "Israel Putnam" in Appleton's Cyclopedia of 
American Biography. 



no Israel Putnam [1759- 

August 17th. Both shores were reconnoitred during 
the night, and the next day some of the troops, includ- 
ing Connecticut men under Putnam, were ordered to 
take possession of the islands just below Fort Levis. 
They proceeded in bateaux, but in passing the fort 
were fired upon and suffered some loss. Batteries were 
begun on the points of two of the islands, Isles Galot 
and Picquet. The next morning three New York 
regiments with all their artillery passed the fort under 
fire from the enemy. Other islands were taken and 
batteries prepared. Three days longer the work of 
investing Fort Levis continued and during that time 
the French garrison under Captain Pouchot kept their 
cannon more or less active in attempting to repel the 
besiegers. As soon as the English war-ships under 
Captain Loring arrived, Amherst ordered them to move 
down the river and post themselves as close to the fort 
as possible. They were " to fire upon the enemy," 
says Mante, " and prevent their making use of their 
guns whilst the grenadiers rowed in with their broad- 
swords and tomahawks, fascines and scaling-ladders 
under cover of three hundred of the light infantry, who 
were to fire into the embrasures." * But this plan of 
assault had to be postponed on August 23rd on account 
of the running aground of the Onondaga^ and two days 
later its execution was made unnecessary by the sur- 
render — " a fortunate event," exclaims Mante, " as it 
saved a good deal of blood." When Amherst was 
planning to storm the enemy's stronghold on the 
island, one of the problems had been how to pass over 
a high abattis of black-ash which surrounded the 
fortress. Everywhere it projected over the water. 

* History of the late War in North America ; see also M. Pou- 
chot, Memoir upon the late War in North America, 1 755-1 760. 




^^^• 









^<:.* 

^ 



i76i] Three More Campaigns 1 1 1 

The fertile mind of the dauntless Connecticut officer, 
whose originality had already impressed the comman- 
der, conceived a solution. 

"Lieutenant-Colonel Putnam proposed a mode of attack," 
Humphreys narrates, "and ofiFered his services to carry it into 
effect. The General approved the proposal. Our partisan ac- 
cordingly caused a sufficient number of boats to be fitted for the 
enterprise. The sides of each boat were surrounded with fas- 
cines, musket-proof, which covered the men completely. A 
wide plank, twenty feet in length, was then fitted to every boat 
in such manner, by having an angular piece sawed from one 
extremity, that when fastened by ropes on both sides of the 
bow it might be raised or lowered at pleasure. The design was 
that the plank should be held erect while the oarsmen forced 
the bow with the utmost exertion against the abattis ; and that 
afterwards being dropped on the pointed brush it should serve 
as a kind of bridge to assist the men in passing over them." 

Although the same writer states that " Putnam was 
particularly honoured by A.mherst for his ingenuity in 
this invention," the possibility of getting over the abat- 
tis by such a device has been doubted. " From per- 
sonal observation of the ground," writes Los-sing, " I 
am inclined to think that a plank twenty feet long 
could hardly have reached the abattis from the water, 
even in a perpendicular position, unless the altitude of 
the shores was less then than now." The apparent 
impracticability of the plan has led .some writers to con- 
sider the story as fabulous. On the other hand is the 
fact that Humphreys claims to give the details on the 
authority of the hero himself who was capable of pro- 
posing so original and venturesome an expedient and 
of energetically attempting to carry it into execution. 

It does not appear in the next paragraph of Hum- 
phreys's account that the abattis was actually passed in 



112 Israel Putnam [1759- 

the way Putnam planned, but that the planks and fas- 
cines frightened the enemy and hastened the surrender: 

" Lieutenant-Colonel Putnam, having made his dispositions 
to attempt the escalade in many places at the same moment, 
advanced with his boats in admirable order. The garrison, 
perceiving these extraordinary machines, vi^aited not the assault 
but capitulated." 

But Humphreys seriously errs in his description of 
the capture of Fort Ivevis in omitting mention of the 
bombardment and in giving the impression that Put- 
nam's mode of advancing was the sole cause of the 
surrender. 

After Fort Lfevis was captured, the English army 
was employed five days in making the necessary pre- 
parations for advancing, and then on the morning of 
August 31st Amherst embarked with some of the 
troops. Putnam was in this first division. The rest 
of the army followed the next day. The journey from 
Fort L6vis to Montreal required a week. This was a 
very perilous part of the expedition, for the river 
abounded in intricate passages formed by the number- 
less small islands, and in cascades and whirlpools. 
These presented difficulties which the skill of the most 
experienced and stout-hearted guides could not wholly 
overcome. There was no serious mishap, however, in 
passing the Galops, the Rapide Plat, the LongSaut, and 
the C6teau du Lac, in succession, but when the army 
reached the Cedars, the Buisson, and the Cascades, 
the boats, notwithstanding the precautions which had 
been taken, became crowded together, and some of 
them were swept helplessly forward by the swift, 
foaming current. Putnam must have seen boat after 



i76i] Three More Campaigns 113 

boat dashed madly against the rocks, for the forty-six 
which were totally wrecked, and the eighteen damaged, 
belonged to the first division. Eighty- four men were 
drowned.* At length the dangerous rapids were passed 
and the flotilla glided out upon the still surface of Lake 
St. Louis. The army encamped, September 5th, on 
Isle Perrot. Here two messages arrived for General 
Amherst which must have gladdened his own heart and 
that of every soldier with him : one was from General 
Murray, saying that he was on Isle St. Therese, 
just below Montreal; the other was from Brigadier- 
General Haviland, announcing that he himself was 
already near the southern shore of the St. Lawrence, 
opposite the city, having captured Isle-aux-Noix on 
the way. Israel Putnam and his comrades now knew 
that the grand scheme of the Commander-in-chief was 
about to be accomplished, for in a few hours Montreal 
would be invested by three English armies. 

On September 6th, Amherst's troops re-embarked 
and, having passed along the shore, landed at La 
Chine on the south-west end of the island of Montreal. 
After some of the artillery had been brought ashore, a 
few battalions of provincials were left to guard the 
boats, while the main body of troops marched to Mon- 
treal and encamped before its walls. Although Putnam 
was in the detachment which remained at La Chine, 
he must soon have been informed of what occurred 
during the next two days at the city nine miles distant. 

Finding that the English, whose three armies 



* There is an interesting contemporary portrait of Amherst 
after a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which represents the 
commander solicitously watching his men as they are descend- 
ing the most dangerous part of the rapids. It is reproduced in 
G. E. Hart's Fall of New France. 



114 Israel Putnam [1759- 

numbered seventeen thousand men, were rapidly plant- 
ing their cannon to bombard the city, the French au- 
thorities began negotiations without delay, looking to 
the surrender of their chief remaining stronghold in 
Canada. The correspondence between the Marquis de 
Vaudreuil and General Amherst lasted until September 
8th. Then the French governor, yielding to the de- 
mand that the whole garrison of Montreal and all other 
French troops in Canada lay down their arms, signed 
the capitulation. Thus "half the continent changed 
hands at the scratch of a pen," and without bloodshed 
the great object of this campaign had been accom- 
plished. Now at last over the gate of Montreal was 
hoisted the flag of St. George. 

Great clemency was shown the vanquished in com- 
pliance with the wish Amherst expressed when thank- 
ing his soldiers for their services. Some of the Indians, 
who had recently been allies of the French, quickly 
transferred their allegiance to the English. Near 
Montreal was Caughnawaga or Saut St. Louis, the seat 
of an Indian mission, with chapel, fortifications, and 
storehouses. There Putnam found the chief, his captor 
of two years before, who had conceived a special 
liking for the heroic prisoner and had remembered him 
with interest. 

"That Indian," Humphreys relates, "was highly delighted 
to see his old acquaintance, whom he entertained in his own 
well-built stone house with great friendship and hospitality ; 
while his guest did not discover less satisfaction in an oppor- 
tunity of shaking the brave savage by the hand and proffering 
him protection in this reverse of his military fortunes." 

Putnam had certainly cherished no ill-will or re- 
vengeful spirit towards the tribe of savages into whose 



i76i] Three More Campaigns 115 

power he had once fallen. In the days of the American 
Revolution, when urging that the help of the Caughna- 
wagas be retained in the fight for freedom, he declared 
his high opinion of them : " I know them to be a very 
brave nation and think it of importance they should be 
secured to our interest." 

Within a week after the fall of Canada, Putnam was 
travelling back to Fort William Augustus, for the 
Connecticut regiments were ordered to set out in that 
direction on September ii, 1760. On account of the 
rapids and other obstacles in the route, two weeks 
passed away before the soldiers reached the fort. Then 
they were put to work upon it and continued at this 
task until the last of October, when the blustering 
weather prevented further labour. The provincials were 
permitted to go home. It is doubtful if Putnam could 
have reached Pomfret before November 21st. This 
was the date of another sad event in his home, — the 
death of little David, who was born in his absence and 
lived only one month and seven days. 

Although the fate of Canada had been decided, and 
the New England people, like many other British sub- 
jects, had celebrated the event with much thanks- 
giving, the campaign of 1761 needed to be planned, in 
order ' ' to ^reduce the enemy to the necessity of accept- 
ing a peace, on terms of Glory and advantage to His 
Majesty's Crown, and beneficial, in particular, to his 
subjects in America." Amherst was again made Com- 
mander-in-chief of the regular and provincial troops. 
At the session of the General Assembly in March, 
1761, Connecticut promptly resolved to furnish two 
thousand three hundred men, and to form them into 
two regiments of twelve companies each. As in every 



ii6 



Israel Putnam 



[1759-61] 



campaign of this war, Phineas Lyman was made Major- 
General of the colony's force. Israel Putnam was 
nominated by the lower House as Lieutenant-Colonel 
of the Second Regiment, of which Nathan Whiting 
was Colonel. In April, however, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Nathan Payson of the First Regiment died, and Putnam 
was transferred to fill the vacancy. 

The campaign of 176 1 was uneventful, compared with 
the previous years. Now that fighting was ended in 
Canada, the provincials were employed in repairing and 
strengthening the newly acquired forts and military 
posts as well as those fortifications which the English 
themselves had built. The Connecticut soldiers were 
assigned to work at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 
Although we have no detailed account of Putnam's per- 
sonal history during this year, we know that in these 
military operations which he shared he must have 
shown the energy and endurance for which he was dis- 
tinguished in former and more exciting campaigns. 




CHAPTER X 

THE CAPTURE OF HAVANA 
I762-1763 




LTHOUGH Canada had been conquered, 
more military service was demanded of 
the English colonists in 1762, Some 
of them were now to be employed in 
the West Indies ; and Putnam was 
destined to share in the tragic experi- 
ences through which the regular and provincial soldiers 
passed in capturing the " Pearl of the Antilles." 

George III. had become involved in a war with 
Spain, for Charles III. of that kingdom had entered, 
with Louis XV. of France, into the arrangement 
known as the Family Compact, by which the sovereign 
.princes of the House of Bourbon agreed to support 
each other against the growing power of the King of 
England. After the English had captured, in the early 
part of 1762, Martinique and other West Indian islands 
which belonged to France, their next object of attack 
in the New World was the Spani.sh possession of 
Havana. For this purpose an expedition sailed from 
England in March, 1762, and appeared off the coast of 
Cuba early in June. It had been joined by other forces, 
and now consisted of nearly two hundred vessels, about 

117 



ii8 Israel Putnam [1762- 

a fifth of which were ships of war. Admiral Sir George 
Pocock commanded the fleet, and General the Earl of 
Albemarle the army, which numbered eleven thousand 
men. The reinforcement which was expected from the 
English colonies in America had not yet arrived. 

Connecticut had been called upon by the British 
government, " to raise the same number of men they 
raised for the last year's campaign." The Assembly 
had accordingly voted to furnish " twenty-three hun- 
dred able-bodied and efiective men, ofiicers included, 
. . . to be formed into two regiments, each regiment 
to consist of twelve companies." For the eighth con- 
secutive year, we find Phineas Eyman appointed by 
the Assembly as " Major-General of the forces ordered 
to be raised in this Colony." This time the name 
next to Lyman's in the list of officers is that of " Israel 
Putnam, Esq'.," who was made Lieutenant-Colonel of 
the First Regiment. 

With the exception of the Tenth Company, which 
served with the Second Regiment at Crown Point dur- 
ing this campaign, the soldiers of the First Regiment 
assembled at New York City. There these thousand 
men, together with eight hundred volunteers from New 
York and five hundred from New Jersey, embarked, in 
the month of June, for the expedition against Havana. 
General Lyman had been put in command of the bri- 
gade and Lieutenant-Colonel Putnam was now acting 
colonel of the Connecticut regiment. 

The greater part of the voyage was uneventful, but 
when at last the provincials approached the coast of 
Cuba a terrific hurricane arose, and the transport which 
carried Putnam and five hundred of his men was 
driven upon a rift of craggy rocks and wrecked. In 
this imminent danger Putnam was as calm and resource- 



1763] The Capture of Havana 119 

ful a hero as he had been at other perilous periods of 
his life. Above the roar of the angry billows he con- 
trolled his men to such a degree that a panic was pre- 
vented. For the original account of the shipwreck we 
are indebted to Humphreys, who has handed down to 
us in the following form the facts which he obtained 
from Putnam : 

"The weather was so tempestuous and the surf, which ran 
mouutain-high, dashed with such violence against the ship that 
the most experienced seaman expected it would soon part 
asunder. The rest of the fleet, so far from being able to afford 
assistance, with difficulty rode out the gale. In this deplorable 
situation, as the only expedient by which they could be saved, 
strict order was maintained, and all those people who best 
understood the use of tools instantly employed in constructing 
rafts from spars, plank, and whatever other materials could be 
procured. There happened to be on board a large quantity of 
strong cords (the same that are used in the whale fishery) which, 
being fastened to the rafts, after the first had with inconceiv- 
able hazard reached the shore, were of infinite service in pre- 
venting the others from drifting out to sea, as also in dragging 
them athwart the billows to the beach, by which means every 
man was finally saved." 

The same chronicler now mentions the precautionary 
measures of the efficient commander for the protection 
of the castaways until the arrival of the vessel sent to 
their relief : 

"As soon as all were landed, Lieutenant-Colonel Putnam 
fortified his camp, that he might not be exposed to insult from 
inhabitants of the neighbouring districts or from those of Car- 
thagena, who were but twenty-four miles distant. Here the 
party remained unmolested several days, until the storm had 
so much abated as to permit the convoy to take them off." 

Coasting westward along the Cuban shore, the New 



I20 Israel Putnam [1762- 

England soldiers must have gazed with great interest 
on the tropical scenery so strange to most of them. 
Fertile, undulating land, instead of wastes of sand or 
low flats, receded from the sea and rose in high hills 
which were covered with luxuriant verdure. At last, 
in the distance, the grey outlines of Morro Castle, con- 
trasting strongly with the richness and peaceful beauty 
of nature, came in sight. Soon Putnam and all on 
board the vessel gained a nearer view of this grim, 
beetling fortress, between which and the frowning 
battlements of Punta was the deep, narrow entrance 
to Havana harbour. At a sate distance west of Morro 
Castle, Putnam and his men landed. They soon joined 
their comrades, who, having escaped being cast away 
in the storm, had arrived before them in this vicinity. 
It was now the last week in July. The siege of Havana 
had already been in progress nearly two months. The 
provincials — even those of them who had been ship- 
wrecked — were in high spirits and were eager to share 
in the military operations against the Spaniards. In- 
deed, the reinforcement was heartily welcomed, for the 
besiegers were in a deplorable condition. Since the 7th 
of June, the date of their landing, the English troops 
under I^ord Albemarle had ^ suffered more from the 
climate than from the assaults of the defenders of 
Morro Castle. Under the fiery sun they had toiled at 
the breastworks on the surrounding heights. Hardly 
enough earth could be gathered from crevices in the 
parched rocks to hold the fascines firm. When at last 
the cannon had opened on the Spanish stronghold, the 
grand battery, which was little else than a heap of 
dry sticks, took fire and was consumed. The exhaust- 
ing labour of rebuilding the defences in the tropic mid- 
summer and the lack of proper food and drink wrought 



1763] The Capture of Havana 121 

fearful havoc among the English. Half the army lay 
ill of fever and many of the soldiers had died. It was 
at this critical time that, in the words of the early 
historian, Benjamin Trumbull, " the arrival of troops 
from North America [Putnam and the provincials] re- 
vived the drooping spirits of the English regulars, gave 
fresh vigour to their operations, and was of the most 
signal service." * 

With the aid of the Colonial reinforcement, Ivord 
Albemarle determined to attempt at once to carry 
Morro Castle by storm. Ten days previous he had 
repulsed a formidable sally, and now, at last, his work 
of sapping had resulted in a practicable breach near 
the right bastion. On the afternoon of July 30th the 
assailants, led by Lieutenant Forbes of the Royals, 
advanced with great intrepidity. Having mounted 
the breach, they surprised and dispersed the garrison. 
The reduction of the fortress was complete. Five 
hundred of the enemy fell, including Don Luis de 
Velasco, the commander of the Morro ; the English 
lost only two oflEicers and thirty men. Many Spaniards 
were drowned in trying to reach the city. There is no 
detailed record of Putnam's part in the victorious 
action, but he was a sharer in the honours bestowed 
upon the members of the storming party for their 
gallant service. 

After the fall of Morro Castle, the next object of Lord 
Albemarle was Havana itself Works were begun on 
both sides of the city and were carried on for ten days. 
On the morning of August nth, the English batteries, 
consisting of forty-five cannon, opened a heavy fire 
on the city. The bombardment continued until two 
o'clock in the afternoon. Then the Spaniards, seeing 

* History of Connecticut, i6jo to 176^. 



122 Israel Putnam [1762- 

the uselessness of further resistance, offered to surren- 
der. Two days later the negotiations were ended and 
Havana and its immediate territory passed into posses- 
sion of the English.* Nearly a thousand regular 
troops of the enemy became prisoners and were sent 
on board the English vessels. Putnam must have 
been one of the witnesses of the honourable terms 
granted the Spaniards ; for, in sight of their captors, 
the soldiers marched out of the city with all the honours 
of war. Besides the success of the English on land, 
nine ships-of-the-line and four frigates surrendered to 
them in the harbour. 

Unfortunately, the distribution of the prize money 
was accompanied by much injustice, for the " poor 
men got a lean share and the great chiefs were en- 
riched." There is no record of the amount which 
Putnam received, but, like that of all the provincials, 
it was much less than it should have been. It was, 
however, large enough to be of considerable financial 
help to him after his return to his home in Connecti- 
cut, and it gave him added reputation there, among 
his neighbours, of being " very well-to-do." 



* The details of the capture of Havana are given not only by 
Mante in his History of the late War in North America^ pp. 
398-465, but also by another contemporary English historian, 
Entick, in his General History of the late War, vol. v., pp. 
363-383. The: Journal of the Siege by the Chief Engineer is in 
Beatson's Naval and Military JMeinoirs of Great Britain, vol. 
ii., p. 544. In the Library of Congress at Washington, D. C, 
is a Letter of Lieut. Col. A. Moneypenny, dated " Havana, 
15th August, 1762," describing the siege. There is a plan of 
the siege, "drawn by an officer on the spot, 1762." It is re- 
produced in Winsor's Narrative and Critical History of Amer- 
ica^ vol. viii., p. 274, from the Authentic Jourtial of the Siege 
(London, 1763). 



1763] The Capture of Havana 123 

It is of great interest to us that there is still in exist- 
ence an Orderly Book which was brought by Putnam 
himself from Havana.* In this original and valuable 
source of information we have a daily record, from 
August 25 to October i6, 1762, of what was required 
of the Colonial troops soon after the surrender of 
Havana. Among the entries is one commanding the 
provincials to show respect for the religion of the con- 
quered inhabitants. Doubtless this order was especially 
necessary because of the prejudice of the Puritan 
soldiers of New England against the Roman Catholics, 
whom they now saw in large numbers in priestly and 
religious garb. We learn from the same Orderly Book 
that Lord Albemarle adopted a liberal policy in allow- 
ing the Spanish citizens of Havana the privilege during 
the daytime of going out or coming into the town. 
They were " not to be Stopt by any Guard or Sentry." 
It was necessary to make repairs on the captured city 
and its fortifications, and special orders were accordingly 
issued in August for the provincials to set to work. 
Many details for provisioning the army are found in 
the Orderly Book. There are also allusions to the 
fevers which soon laid low many of the New England 
men. The entries relating to the care of the sick give 
an added interest to another contemporaneous docu- 
ment. This is none other than the Journal of the Rev. 
John Graham, t who had been with Putnam and the 
provincials at Fort Edward in 1756, and who was now' 
again chaplain of the Connecticut troops. In the 



* This Orderly Book is now in the possession of Charles Otis 
Thompson, of Pomfret, Conn., a lineal descendant of Putnam. 

t Graham's Journal was printed in the Year Book for i8gs 
of the New York Society of Colonial Wars ; also in Halstead's 
The Slory of Cuba. 



124 Israel Putnam [1762- 

quaint and pathetic language of this old-time minister, 
we have a description of the terrible scenes of suffering 
which Putnam must have witnessed. The minister's 
depression of spirit, caused by the " groans and out- 
crys of the Sick and distressed," as well as by his own 
bodily ailments, was increased by his morbid religious- 
ness and the apparent indifference of the soldiers to his 
Sunday ministrations. He tells of his interview with 
Putnam : 

"Sabbath Day, Oct. 3, 1762. — Tho this day is by divine 
appointment Set apart as holy, and consecrated to holy uses 
yet in Camp, among the Troops, is set aside as common, and 
not so much as the least visible Shew or appearance of any- 
thing that is religious carried on ; but God and religion, Christ 
and Salvation are disregarded, condemn'd and dispised, and we 
live as tho' there was no God, no future Judgment, but as if we 
had given and preserved life to ourselves, and consequently 
were never to be accountable to any others how we lived or 
Spent our days. 

"I asked Col. Putnam in ye Morning what there was to 
hinder publick Service — he answered, he knew nothing in the 
world to hinder it — I askt him if it was not duty if there was 
nothing to hinder — yes, answered he, by all means, and I won- 
der in my Soul why we don't have Service ; and add'd we could 
have prayers night and morning Just as well as not — but then 
says he, ther '1 be but few to attend, there 's so many Sick, and 
so many to attend the sick that there cou'd not be a Great 
many present at the services ; I replied — we had this to encour- 
age us, where two or three are met together in my Name, Says 
God, there am I in the midst of them to bless them, so that it 
was not numbers that entitled to the blessing— that 's true, Says 
he, I will go down to the General [Lyman] and Speak to him 
about it, bides good by — have heard no more of it Since." 

The reason why the chaplain heard no more of the 
matter was either because public services were found 
to be impracticable after all, with so much illness in 



1763] The Capture of Havana 125 

camp, or because General layman thought them of 
little importance and so took no action about having 
them held. 

On Thursday morning, October 7th, according to 
Graham's Journal, " Col. Putnam and Lt. Parks went 
off into y" country to buy fresh provisions, Such as 
poultry, etc." When they returned on the following 
Monday, Parks had been taken ill, and it would ap- 
pear from an entry two days later in the journal that 
before the week was ended this oflScer, like many 
another provincial, had died. 

Graham gives melancholy figures in stating the 
number of Connecticut men who fell victims to the 
fatal fevers. By October 2nd, 184 were dead. During 
the week which followed that date, the list was in- 
creased to 207, and on October i6th it amounted to 
226. 

The old records of Connecticut show that many 
names were destined to be added to this sad list, 
making nearly 400 deaths in all in the regiment which 
Putnam commanded as acting colonel. The loss among 
the other provincial troops was in about the same pro- 
portion, — more than one-third of the force from each 
colony. 

Putnam's capacity for remarkable physical endurance 
stood him in good stead during the dreadful days at 
Havana, but the added responsibilities arising from the 
condition of his men made heavy draughts upon his 
strength and, like Chaplain Graham, he must have 
" lyOng looked for, long expected, much desired to 
know the fixed time" when orders would be issued 
by Lord Albemarle for the provincial troops to embark 
for home. The eagerness of the Connecticut soldiers 
to "reach their native Shores and with wraptured 



126 Israel Putnam [1762- 

hearts o'er come with Jo}^ to Salute, embrace, and fall 
into the Arms, of their long wished for, wishing, 
lovely, loving friends," could not but have been in- 
creased by an event which brought distant scenes very 
vividly to their minds. This was the arrival, in 
Havana harbour, in early October, of a vessel from 
New London, with " the Joyful news of the prosperous 
Season in New England and the Smiles of divine pro- 
vidence upon the labours of the field," 

At last, from headquarters the announcement was 
made of " six Transports appointed for the Connecticut 
Troops to Carry them to N. York." And now the 
provincials were happy, indeed. They were not long 
in embarking. 

The Royal Duke, on which Putnam was aboard, came 
very near having a serious accident. Graham, his 
fellow-passenger, records : 

"Thursday, Oct. 21. — ^Just at night going out of the harbour 
narrowly escaped running on the Rocks — the Ship struck once, 
but a wind Sprung up and carried us Clear — stood off to sea all 
night. 

"Friday, Oct. 22. Return'd Back to find the fleet. Join'd 
the fleet toward night." 

The vessels were soon well on the way towards their 
destination. Most of the soldiers were seasick. The 
sufferings of those who had not recovered from Cuban 
fever were greatly increased in the rough passage. 
Not a few died before New York was reached. 

With Putnam on the homeward voyage was a negro 
servant whom he had rescued from cruel hands. The 
story is, that shortly before leaving Havana Putnam 
came across, in one of the streets of the city, an angry 
Spaniard severely beating a slave with a bamboo cane. 



1763J The Capture of Havana 127 

So indignant was the Colonel at the sight that, although 
he was unattended and defenceless, he rushed up to the 
master and wrested the cane from him, thus putting an 
end to the brutal scene. Instantly there gathered 
about Putnam a mob of Cubans, infuriated at what 
they considered an unwarranted interference by a 
foreigner. They would have attacked him had he 
not defeated their purpose by escaping to one of the 
ships at the wharf. The poor slave followed his rescuer 
and begged so earnestly to be taken on board that his 
request was granted. He insisted on remaining with 
Putnam, and gladly accompanied him to Connecticut, 
and became his faithful servant " Dick." The bamboo 
stick Putnam kept through life. He referred to it thus 
in dictating a memorandum on October 3, 1789, — a 
few months before his death : 

"Walked out to-day supported by my Havana cane, which is 
a necessity in my present infirmity, and which I never carry 
without a remembrance of that day when I seized it." 

He bequeathed the cane to the devoted coloured man, 
and it is said that a familiar sight at Brooklyn, Con- 
necticut, used to be Dick in his old age hobbling about 
with it and proudly calling attention to " Massa Put- 
nam's cane." 

By the time that Putnam reached Pomfret the 
autumn of 1762 was ended. The next year and a half 
were spent by him in the peaceful pursuits of farm life. 
No details of his personal history, during this period, 
have come down to us. lyike all his fellow-colonists 
he must have welcomed the cessation of hostilities be- 
tween the mother country and her enemies. It was, 
doubtless, with chagrin that he heard that Havana, 
which had been wrested at fearful cost from Spain, 



128 Israel Putnam [1762-63] 

was restored to her. He afterwards learned, however, 
that by the terms of the treaty signed at Paris in Feb- 
ruary, 1763, Great Britain received Florida and all 
other Spanish possessions east of the Mississippi River 
in exchange for the portion of Cuba which had been 
given back. France, after her hard-fought but fruit- 
less struggle for supremacy in North America, sur- 
rendered to the English, by the Paris treaty, Canada, 
Acadia, the Island of Cape Breton, with other islands 
in the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence, and also 
the territory between the Alleghany Mountains and the 
Mississippi ; and, in order to indemnify Spain for the 
loss of Florida, she ceded to that country the city of 
New Orleans and the vast region called Ivouisiana, 
which lay west of the Mississippi. 

Thus ended, in the New World, the long war in 
which Putnam had borne an important part. Al- 
though peace with Frenchmen and Spaniards was as- 
sured to the English colonists, new difficulties arose, 
and again the energetic and brave officer was called 
into military service. 




CHAPTER XI 

IN BRADSTREET'S EXPEDITION 

1764 

"This Assembly doth appoint Israel Putnam, Esqr, to be 
Major of the forces now ordered to be raised in this Colony for 
his Majesty's service against the Indian nations who have been 
guilty of perfidious and cruel massacres of the English." 

O reads an interesting entry in the colo- 
nial records of Connecticut for March, 
1764. This legislative act was occa- 
sioned by an uprising of the savages 
under the crafty, ambitious, and pow- 
erful Pontiac, chief of the Ottawas, 
After the fall of Canada, it seemed impossible that 
the loosely organised Indian tribes, deprived of French 
leadership, could co-operate for any general hostile 
movement. Therefore the English as a whole felt 
no apprehension in pursuing an intolerant course, 
and their garrisons frequently insulted and drove away 
the Indian visitors. In this state of affairs, Pontiac 
took advantage of the prejudice of the savages against 
the English, for his own dark purpose. He sent mes- 
sengers with red-stained tomahawks and wampum war- 
belts in the autumn of 1762 to the Indians far and near, 
and succeeded in securing as allies most of the tribes 

1.9 




130 Israel Putnam [1764 

between the Alleghany Mountains and the Mississippi 
River and also the Senecas, one of the Six Nations. His 
plot was for a grand simultaneous attack in the month 
of May, 1763, on all the Western posts, each of which 
was, for this purpose, assigned to the tribe nearest to 
it. He planned in general that a few Indians with 
weapons concealed under their blankets should ap- 
proach a fort and obtain admission on a pretext of 
friendship. Others, similarly armed, were to join 
their fellows until the number was large enough to at- 
tack the garrison ; then on a signal they were to spring 
forward upon the English and either take them prison- 
ers or massacre them. Many were the forts captured 
by the scheme of treachery, Pennsjdvania especially 
becoming the scene of diabolical atrocities. The gar- 
rison at Detroit was to be attacked, May 7th, by the 
force which Pontiac was to lead in person, but, on 
the day before, an Indian girl disclosed the plot to 
Major Gladwyn, the commander there. The discom- 
fited conspirators then assailed the fort and for weeks the 
sleepless English gallantly defended themselves. In 
November, 1763, Pontiac retired with his followers from 
Detroit, but it was soon evident that hostilities in general 
had only been suspended and the war would be renewed 
in the spring. The savage butcheries already committed 
made early action necessary in 1764, and General Thomas 
Gage, who had succeeded Amherst as Commander-in- 
chief, wrote to the colonies, earnestly calling for troops 
to suppress the " insurrections of the Indian nations." 
Israel Putnam was especially alive to the duties of 
the coming campaign. The battalion which he was 
appointed by the General Assembly of Connecticut to 
command as Major consisted of five companies. At 
the May session the Assembly, in view of furnishing 



1764] In Bradstreet's Expedition 131 

more troops, made Putnam the " lyieutenant-Colonel 
of the forces raised in this Colony for the service of the 
present year." 

The general plan of General Gage for 1764 was for 
two expeditions from different points into the heart of 
the Indian country. One was to be led by Colonel 
Henry Bouquet, who was to advance from Fort Pitt — 
which, like Fort Detroit, had been saved the previous 
year by being warned in season — into the Delaware 
and Shawanese settlements of the Ohio Valley; the 
other, under Colonel John Bradstreet, was to have for its 
object the relief of Major Gladwyn at Detroit and the 
subjection of the neighbouring tribes. It was in this 
latter expedition, the route of which was from Albany 
across the colony of New York and up Lakes Ontario 
and Erie, that Putnam and his Connecticut men served. 

Bradstreet expected to start with his army in April, 
but he was prevented from doing so by the tardiness of 
the different colonies in furnishing troops. When at 
last he set out from Albany about the end of June his 
force, which did not number more than twelve hundred 
men, was much smaller than had been planned. Put- 
nam had already been associated with this officer on 
various occasions, notably at the unsuccessful attack 
on Ticonderoga in 1758, and at the downfall of that 
stronghold the next 3'ear. It was Bradstreet's fortunate 
capture of Fort Frontenac in the autumn of 1758 that 
had brought about the exchange of prisoners, among 
whom was Putnam himself. 

Among the original sources of information relating to 
Bradstreet's expedition is the Journal of Lieutenant 
John Montresor,* who in the preceding year assisted in 
relieving the garrison at Fort Detroit with provisions 

* Collections of New York Historical Society, 1881. 



132 Israel Putnam [1764 

when they were closely besieged by the Indians. This 
young Englishman, with whom as well as his father, 
Colonel James Montresor, Putnam had become well ac- 
quainted at Fort Edward in 1757, was now Bradstreet's 
engineer. The document which he has left contains 
direct references to Putnam. 

"When Bradstreet reached Fort Ontario with his men 
his force was increased by nearly six hundred Indians 
under Sir William Johnson. Among these savage 
allies was the chief who had once been Putnam's captor 
and since that time his friend. This Indian was now 
at the head of a hundred warriors of his own tribe. 
Their " fidelity " and " good behaviour" called forth 
special praise from Johnson. The affection which 
their native leader felt for Putnam kept these Caugh- 
nawagas particularly loyal in this expedition. 

On July 3rd, at five o'clock in the evening, the flotilla, 
consisting of two vessels, — the Mohawk, with Colonel 
Bradstreet on board, and Wxo. Johnson, with Sir William 
Johnson, — seventy-five whaleboats, numerous canoes, 
and other craft — issued forth upon Lake Ontario and 
steered westward. A storm arose, much to the con- 
fusion of the men, but after several days of rough 
passage they all reached Fort Niagara in safety. A 
remarkable spectacle greeted the soldiers as they landed 
beneath the walls of the fort. A multitude of wigwams 
were pitched in clusters along the edge of the woods 
and a vast number of Indians, the variety of whose 
barbaric costumes added to the picturesqueness of the 
scene, strolled in groups over the plains or lounged 
about the sandy beach. This concourse had assembled 
at the invitation of Sir William Johnson, whose great 
influence over the savages was of signal service to the 
English. Conferences were begun with the deputa- 



1764] In Bradstreet's Expedition 133 

tions from the numerous tribes, and for a month, while 
the separate treaties were being made, the main army 
of the English remained at Fort Niagara. 

After wearisome speech-making and many formal- 
ities, such as shaking of hands, smoking of pipes, and 
serving out of whiskey, a treaty of peace was concluded 
with the Indians by which a strip'of land between the 
lakes Erie and Ontario, four miles wide on each side of 
the river Niagara, was ceded to the Crown of Great 
Britain. Lieutenant Montresor was now ordered by 
Colonel Bradstreet to advance with a detachment and 
build " a Post on the N. W. side of the River above the 
rapids at the mouth of Lake Erie." Israel Putnam 
and some of his men were among the four hundred and 
fifty provincials who were chosen for this work under 
the engineer. The detachment left Fort Niagara at 
dawn, on July 17th, and marched over the rough port- 
age road which led towards the cataract. Having 
passed beyond the mighty fall of waters, the distant 
roar of which still sounded in their ears, the men 
reached Fort Schlosser at two o'clock in the afternoon. 
In two boats and bateaux, which had been dragged 
hither by oxen, they now pushed out into the Niagara 
River. That night the soldiers encamped on Navy 
Island. The next day they reached their destination 
and were set to work at once, notwithstanding the in- 
clement weather. For nearly three weeks the " work- 
ing-party and artificers " were busily engaged in 
"felling the Timber" and "cutting and burning 
the Brush" and "pointing the Stockades" and in 
other labour connected with the new military station 
which was named Fort Erie. 

On August 8th, Bradstreet with the main army 
reached Fort Erie; and from this new post, upon which 



134 Israel Putnam [1764 

they had laboured assiduously, Putnam and the other 
provincials accompanied the expedition. The flotilla 
crossed the lake on the morning of the gth, and coasted 
along the southern shore until four o'clock in the after- 
noon. Then the army landed for the night. The 
journey was continued the next day, but on account of 
unfavourable weather the soldiers encamped at Iv' Ance- 
aux-Feuilles, half-way between the present cities of 
Buffalo and Erie. While the troops waited at this 
place, holding themselves in readiness, according to 
orders, " to embark in case of a lull for a push to 
Presque Isle [now Erie, Penn.]," there arrived in camp 
ten strange Indians who announced that they were chief 
warriors and deputies whom the Delawares, Shawanese, 
and Five Nations inhabiting the Plains of Scioto had 
sent to entreat for a peace. The fact that these sav- 
ages, who called themselves deputies, brought with 
them only one string of wampum with which to confirm 
a treaty, aroused suspicion at once, for, as a contempor- 
aneous account says, they should have been " better 
provided with belts on such an occasion." The Indian 
allies were very desirous of the privilege of " knocking 
the Impostors on the Head ' ' ; and Putnam appears to 
have been one of the officers who, knowing from ex- 
perience the treacherous character of the enemy, warned 
Bradstreet against putting trust in the overtures of the 
new arrivals. Notwithstanding the protests of his fol- 
lowers, the self-confident and headstrong commander 
entered into a preliminary treaty in which he promised 
to refrain from marching against the Delawares and 
Shawanese, provided that within twenty-five days the 
representatives of these tribes should meet him at San- 
dusky for the purpose of giving up prisoners and con- 
cluding a definite treaty. 



176-1] In Bradstreet's Expedition 135 

Two weeks were spent by the English in passing 
from L'Ance-aux-Feuillesto Fort Detroit. During this 
time no serious accident occurred, although on certain 
days the boats were in considerable danger, " the wind 
and surf being very violent." The encampment for 
the night was usually at the mouth of a river. On 
August 17th the troops were at the Grand River. 
They advanced the next day to the site of the present 
city of Cleveland and pitched their tents on the bank 
of the Cuyahoga. Putnam and his Connecticut men 
expected to take part in an attack on the Wyandots, 
Ottawas, and Miamis, living in the vicinity of San- 
dusky, for Bradstreet had been ordered to give those 
Indians a thorough chastisement. At the approach of 
the English commander the three tribes sent deputies 
to meet him, saying that if he would abandon the hostile 
plan against them they would follow him to Detroit 
and make a treaty there. Duped by this promise, 
Bradstreet, after a brief stay at Sandusky, proceeded 
on his way and landed with his army near the mouth 
of the Raisin River for the night of August 26th. On 
the following day, " the 19th day from Fort Erie," the 
flotilla entered the Detroit River ; and in the afternoon, 
with mingled feelings of relief and excitement, the 
soldiers saw before them their destination. This fort- 
ified town, known* as Fort Detroit, stood on the western 
margin of the river and contained about a hundred 
houses. It was surrounded by a palisade twenty-five 
feet high ; a wooden bastion was built at each corner 
and a blockhouse guarded each gateway. " On our 
arrival near the Fort we were saluted from thence & 
the vessels," says Montresor, " which [cannon salute] 
was returned from our Gun Boats." Ringing cheers 
rose from the ramparts where the garrison had crowded; 



136 Israel Putnam [1764 

and on the shore friendly Indians shouted, whooped, 
and fired their guns. The heartiness with which the 
soldiers of the fort welcomed the reinforcements was 
still further demonstrated b}^ the joyous personal greet- 
ings when Bradstreet and his men landed. The happi- 
ness of the occasion was increased by the fact that 
among the new arrivals were friends and former com- 
rades of different members of the garrison. Putnam 
himself and Major Gladwyn, the commandant, had 
served together at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 

Although hostilities had been renewed by the In- 
dians in the spring of 1764, Pontiac was still in the 
vicinity of the Maumee River, whither, in the preced- 
ing November, he had retired from the siege of Fort 
Detroit. He defied the English as relentlessly as ever 
by stirring up the Indians agai nst this stronghold. No 
wonder that the garrison, having suffered for months 
from anxieties, privations, and dangers in a region 
swarming with revengeful savages, rejoiced in being 
relieved by fresh troops. 

Bradstreet' s men encamped above the fort on the 
north side. The engineer was immediately ordered 
" to make a Design & estimate for Barracks for 400 
men to be constructed within the Fort. ' ' He completed 
the " Plans & Sections" on August 28th ; and two 
days later a band of men under Putnam began felling 
trees on an adjacent island which was known then as 
Isle-au-Cochon and which has since become one of the 
parks of the city of Detroit, Belle Isle. The timber 
was to be used in building not only the proposed bar- 
racks but also " two scows for bringing of Stone & 
other materials." These boats were to be " 70 feet in 
length by 18 in Breadth, to carry 25 Tons." 

On the 31st of August, Montresor records : " The 



1764] In Bradstreet's Expedition 137 

party with Col. Putnam, consisting of 200 narrow ax 
men cutting Timber for Barracks, still remain at work." 
And they continued at their task until vSeptember 7th, 
on which date there is, in the same journal, this entry: 
" Came down from Lsle au Coclion Colonel Putnam and 
the party of Provincials that have been employed there 
cutting of Timber for carrying on the works here." 

It was doubtless to assist in the military display which 
had been ordered at the fort that the detachment under 
Putnam was sunnnoned from the island ; for on tliis 
day Bradstreet held an open-air council with the In- 
dians, and wished to inspire among them great awe 
of English arms.* The concourse of savages, which 
Putnam and his men saw, on approaching the fort, was 
similar in .some respects to that in the vicinity of Fort 
Niagara .several weeks before. It was, however, .smaller 
than Bradstreet had expected, for although it included 
Wyandots, Ottawas, Miamis, vSacs, Ojibwas, and Potta- 
wattamies, the tribes dwelling near vSandusky had only 
partially kept their promise to be present at Fort De- 
troit. In the presence of the soldiers on parade and 
after harangues and barbaric formalities, the Indians 
took the " Oaths of allegiance and fidelity to his Brit- 
tanic Majesty." The savages .supposed, however, that 
they were simply asked to call themselves children of 
the King of Ivngland out of compliment to him. They 
could not comprehend that subjection and sovereignty 
were involved in their action. 

Putnam, who thoroughly understood Indian charac- 

* Major Thomas Mante, who acconipanicfl this expedition, 
gives an account of this council with tlie Indians in hi?, History 
0/ the late War in North America, Ifictudin^ the Ca^npaign of 
/y6j and ij6^ against I lis Majesty's Indian Enemies, pp. 517- 
524. 



138 Israel Putnam [1764 

ter, must have realised how impracticable and absurd 
were Bradstreet's negotiations for peace on this occa- 
sion, and he must have been surprised that the com- 
mander so utterly disregarded savage custom as to hack 
in pieces with a hatchet a belt of wampum which had 
been brought to be used in the council — an act of Brad- 
street that aroused the indignation of all the Indians 
present, both friends and enemies. 

The week which followed the council of September 
7th was spent by Putnam at the fort. On September 
13th, Bradstreet was startled by news from Sandusky, 
" that the Indians to the number of 800 warriors had 
assembled there to oppose our troops from disembark- 
ing as proposed, instead of ratifying the treaty." De- 
termined that his arrangement of August 12th for 
meeting the Delaware and Shawanese deputies by the 
middle of September should not thus be frustrated, 
Bradstreet issued orders at once for the troops to decamp 
and embark on the morrow for Sandusky. At eight 
o'clock in the morning, in the midst of the beautiful 
autumn scenery, for the trees on shore had already 
begun to "change their Hue," the flotilla, consisting 
of " 60 of the Long Boats and one Barge," glided down 
the Detroit River and issued forth upon L,ake Erie. 
Putnam, like every soldier in the expedition, expected 
to be engaged soon in fierce combat with the savage 
foe; but on the way Bradstreet was met by news differ- 
ent from several reports which had previously reached 
him. " Accounts now arrived," so writes the engineer 
on the third day after leaving Fort Detroit, " that the 
Delawares and Shawanese are assembled at Sandusky 
where the old Fort stood, in order to treat with us for 
Peace, agreeable to their appointment." 

The troops entered Sandusky L,ake or Bay about two 



1764] In Bradstreet's Expedition 139 

o'clock in the afternoon of September i8th, and, after 
some delay in finding a suitable place to land, en- 
camped on a " good clay beach," half a mile west of 
the spot where, sixteen months previous, Pontiac's fol- 
lowers had butchered the English garrison and burned 
the fort. 

None of the deputies whom Bradstreet had expected 
were in sight, but soon several savages approached the 
camp with a pledge that if he would not attack the In- 
dian villages in the vicinity the promises to surrender 
prisoners and conclude a definite treaty would be ful- 
filled within a week. So seven more days were granted 
to the delinquent Delawares and Shawanese. Before 
that time expired Bradstreet's whole force, according 
to Montresor, 

"embarked and proceeded and encamped one mile below the 
Rapids [of the Sandusky River] in order to meet them [the 
deputies] one day sooner, and also to be so much nearer to 
attack their villages on the Ohio should they fail to comply 
with every article alluded to in the Treaty of Peace." 

It was at this " Camp near the Huron Village on 
Sandusky River " that Putnam, on the evening of Sep- 
tember 23rd, served as " Field officer for the Picket," * 
Here, too, he presided one morning at a " General 
Court Martial" held at eight o'clock at his own tent 
" to try all Prisoners brought before them." 

Again the credulous Bradstreet was doomed to dis- 
appointment about meeting the Indian deputies, for 



* Regimental Orderly Book. Subsequent entries in this doc- 
ument mention Putnam as " Field officer for Picket " under the 
following places and dates : "Camp Carrying place near San- 
dusky L,ake ■^'"^ Oct! 1764" ; " Camp near La Rivierre Roch^ 
[Rocky River], Oct! 19th"; "Grand River, Oct! 25th"; 
"Grand River, OctC 29th." 



HO Israel Putnam [1764 

the seven days passed away, and not a chief appeared. 
Then the army returned down the Sandusky River, 
crossed the bay, and encamped at the carrying-place of 
Sandusky. A body of men was immediately set to work 
clearing ground for the construction of a fort. This 
working party was composed of provincials under Put- 
nam. Nearly a month was spent by the troops at the 
carrying- place of Sandusky. Here Putnam wrote an 
interesting letter to Major Drake of Norwich, Connect- 
icut, describing some personal impressions on this 
expedition and also obstacles met with in dealing with 
the Indians. The original manuscript is not in exist- 
ence, but the letter was printed in the Boston Gazette 
of December 24, 1764, and in that form — the errors in 
spelling and punctuation, to which Putnam was prone, 
having been corrected by the editor of the old news- 
paper — it has been preserved to us. The letter, which 
is dated October 7, 1764, begins with a description of 
the country around Sandusky and Detroit : 

" I can tell you the land here is good enough, and suppose 
you will think it strange if I should tell you that in many 
places in this country there are ten or twenty thousand acres 
of land in a place that have not a bush or twig on them, but all 
covered with grass so big and high that it is very difficult to 
travel — and all as good plough-land as ever you saw ; anj' of it 
fit for hemp ; but there are too many hemp birds among it, 
which will make it very unhealthy to live among. Detroit is a 
very beautiful place and the country around it." 

Putnam writes next, in this letter, of the messengers 
who were dispatched in order to persuade the Indians 
to treat of peace : 

' ' We sent out [August i6th] an officer and three Indians to the 
Delawares and Shawanese from Presque Isle, who returned [in 
October] and were illy used [by the enemy]. We sent the like 



1764] In Bradstreet's Expedition 141 

number [August 26th] from Sandusky, but all before any one 
returned. From Sandusky we sent Captain Montieur [Mon- 
tour] and Captain Peters ; from [Sandusky, by way of the] 
Maumee [River], we sent Captain [Thomas] Morris of the 17th 
[Regiment], and one Thomas King with three Indians." 

Putnam and Morris had been comrades in other cam- 
paigns. The melancholy experience of the latter, on 
his embassy to the Illinois, is mentioned in this letter. 
Morris reached Fort Detroit after the main army had 
left there, but he forwarded to Sandusky his journal, 
giving an account of the treatment which he had re- 
ceived from the savages. Putnam speaks of him thus : 

"Captain Morris returned [to Fort Detroit] some time ago 
[September 17th] and was much abused, and stripped, and 
whipped, and threatened to be tomahawked, but had his life 
spared in case he would return." 

Captain King's adventures and his speech to the In- 
dian allies on his return to Sandusky, are now related 
in Putnam's letter : 

" Captain Thomas King and three of the Kanawawas [Caugh- 
nawagas] proceeded. This Captain Kmg is one of the chiefs 
of the Oneida Castle ; and about ten days ago King came into 
Detroit and had left all the Kanawawas, who gave out for want 
of provisions and could not travel ; he supposed they all per- 
ished in the woods. And three days ago [October 4th] he arrived 
here [Sandusky], and yesterday he had a conference with the 
Indians ; and when all assembled he made a speech to them. 
After some talk with them, he expressed himself in this 
manner : 

"'Friends and Brothers: I am now about to acquaint you 
with facts too obvious to deny. I have been, since I left you, 
to Monsieur Pontuck's [Pontiac's] camp, and waited on him to 
see if he was willing to come in and make peace with our 
brothers, the English. He asked me what I meant by all that, 
saying, " You have always encouraged me to carry on the war 



142 Israel Putnam [1764 

against the English, and you said the onh- reason you did not 
join me last year was the want of ammunition, and as soon as 
you could get ammunition you would join me." ' " 

The remainder of King's speech at Sandusky is re- 
ported by Putnam, in the third person : 

" King said [that he told Pontiac that] there -was nothing in 
it [Pontiac's claim that the Six Nations were hostile to the 
English], at which [statement by King] Pontuck [Pontiac] 
produced six belts of wampum, that he had had the last year 
from the Six Nations and [Pontiac] said, 'The English are so 
exhausted they can do no more, and one year's war, well 
pushed, will drive them into the sea.' " 

The letter mentions next how King, after telling the 
Indian allies at Sandusky about this visit to Pontiac, 
paused in his speech, and, resuming, accused them of 
treachery : 

" King then made a stop for some time [after which he 
added], ' Brothers, you know this [the giving of belts to Pon- 
tiac] to be true, and you have always deceived me.' " 

In describing the effect of these words, Putnam 
tersel}' expresses his opinion of alliances with savages: 

"At which [accusation by King] the Six Nations were all 
angry, and this day they are all packing up to go off; and what 
will be the event I don't know nor don't care, for I have no 
faith in an Indian peace patched up by presents." 

Notwithstanding their threats, all the Indian allies 
did not desert. This was more surprising, since they 
were already greatly disaflfected by Bradstreet's treat- 
ment of them on this expedition. He was continually 
rebuking and cursing them. But to continue Putnam's 
letter to the end : 



1764] In Bradstreet's Expedition 143 

" Yesterday [October 6thJ Captain Peters arrived, which is the 
last party we had out. Capt. Peters says the Wyandots are all 
coining in ; but the Delawares and the Shawanese are not 
coming, nor durst they come, for they are afraid that if they 
should come here Colonel Bouquet will be on their towns and 
castles. For he has sent to them to come and make peace, 
and, on the contrary, if they should go to him we should be on 
them. They intend to be still until Bouquet first comes to 
them, and then send out and make peace if possible ; if not, to 
fight him as long as they have a man left. But, believe me, 
they wait to get some advantage of us before they try for peace. 
Capt. Peters says Bouquet is within thirty miles of their towns, 
and believes he is to make peace with them ; for Colonel Brad- 
street had orders from General Gage eight days ago to make 
no peace with them, but to march and meet Bouquet. But, on 
calling a council of war and examining the Indians and French- 
men who were acquainted with the road, it was found to be 
thirty leagues to travel by land, and nothing to carry any pro- 
visions but on men's backs, which, allowing for hindrances, 
must take forty days to go and come. There are four large 
rivers to pass, two of which must be crossed with rafts, and that 
very difficult. Considering the season of the year it was judged 
impracticable. And here we are, and for what I know not, nor 
when we are to leave it." 

The uncertainty regarding the future movements of 
the army, which Putnam mentions in closing his letter, 
continued ten days longer. The general discontent 
among the soldiers, caused by illness and failing pro- 
visions, was increased by the irascibility of Bradstreet. 
Enraged at being censured by Gage for his manner of 
making treaties, he was in no mood to carry out the 
orders to attack the sav^ages living upon the plains of 
the Scioto. Finally, declaring that the difficulties in 
reaching that region at the advanced season made it 
impossible for him to obey the instructions of the Com- 
mander-in-chief, and also that it was unnecessary to 
spend more time upon the fort at the carrying-place of 



144 Israel Putnam [1764 

Sandusky, Bradstreet decided to set out for home with 
his army without delay. 

Having spent the whole of the first day, after leaving 
Sandusky, in coasting along the southern shore of Lake 
Erie, the troops, towards evening, were near the mouth 
of the Rocky River, " wherein," — so Bradstreet was 
told — " a thousand boats could lie with safety." But 
instead of advancing thither for the night, the self- 
confident commander ordered his men to encamp on a 
" Sandy Beach." The disastrous folly of choosing so 
exposed a spot was soon apparent, for a little after dark 
the weather, which had been " moderate, rather calm," 
changed and became very threatening. The severity 
of the storm, which soon began to rage, was increased 
by snow and sleet. The night was full of excitement 
and distress. Next morning the tempest continued; 
yet some of the men set to work repairing such boats 
as had not been totally wrecked, and other soldiers col- 
lected a portion of the baggage and provisions which 
were scattered along the shore. During the three days 
that the tempestuous weather lasted Putnam was kept 
very busy directing some of the repairs occasioned by 
the damages from the angry surf. By October 21st, 
the " violent gale" had subsided sufficiently for the 
army to proceed, but, owing to the fact that many of 
the boats had been dashed to pieces, some of the pro- 
vincials and Indians were ordered to make the journey 
to Niagara on foot. Putnam was with the main army 
on the lake ; and the hardships there were great. At 
times on the tw^o-weeks' voyage to Fort Erie, the boats 
were " in danger of filling by a prodigious surf." On 
account of the limited number of boats, Bradstreet 
ordered a second detachment to travel by land, and, 



1764] Bradstreet's Expedition 145 

being unable to transport all his ammunition, he de- 
cided to conceal a portion of it. So there was a mid- 
night enterprise and " several Keggs and Boxes of 
musket and carbine Ball " were secretly buried on shore. 
Putnam still accompanied the main army. While 
the soldiers were waiting near the mouth of the Grand 
River for a storm to subside, that they might proceed in 
their boats, they descried one morning a schooner on 
the lake, evidently bound for Fort Detroit. The pro- 
spect of succour put new heart into the suffering troops, 
but, alas! their efforts to attract the attention of the 
passing vessel were all in vain. After days of intense 
distress, the famishing soldiers finally reached the east- 
ern end of Lake Erie. They hastily disembarked and, 
with reviving spirits at the prospect of relief, pressed 
on over the portage road towards Fort Niagara. Faint 
and deadly fatigued, they arriv^ed there on November 
4th, " Some oxen killed for the Troops," writes Mon- 
tresor, in referring to the feast which was quickly pre- 
pared ; and now the starving men thankfulh' regaled 
themselves. Near the fort three schooners lay anchored , 
in which the regulars were to sail along the southern 
side of Lake Ontario to Oswego. The provincials were 
to take the same route, "in the long boats and bateaux." 
All the troops embarked on November 8th. On the 
fourth day after their departure from Fort Niagara 
they were overtaken b}' a tempest on this second lake 
and were again in great peril. One of the schooners 
was cast away, having lost her rudder, but all on board 
were saved. Putnam and the provincials had an ex- 
perience most exciting and hazardous. It was with 
the greatest difficulty that most of the men reached 
the shore. Their boats and bateaux were damaged ; 
and there had been the harrowing spectacle of comrades 



146 



Israel Putnam 



[1764 



perishing in the angry waters. " All this night," 
writes Montresor at the close of his record of the calam- 
itous and heart-sickening nth of November, " a per- 
fect Tempest with a snow drift, the wind chiefly N, W. 
and extremely cold." 

With as many men as were able, in spite of their 
sufferings, to travel — Putnam was one of them — Brad- 
street set out at once for the Hudson River. The 
journey thither was a comparatively easy one. The 
regulars went into winter quarters and the provincials 
were disbanded. By the first of December, Putnam 
reached home. 

The expedition under Bradstreet was the last warlike 
enterprise in which Putnam was destined to serve be- 
fore the days of the American Revolution. Indeed, the 
war against Pontiac, so far as campaigns and battles 
were concerned, ended in 1764, for subsequent plots of 
the hostile chief proved of little avail ; and, finally, after 
he had sued for peace, he was assassinated by a Kas- 
kasian Indian, whom an Knglish trader had bribed to 
commit the deed. 





CHAPTER XII 



THK HONOURED CITIZEN 




I765-1772 

j]HE period of Israel Putnam's life which 
immediately followed his ten years of 
military experience has been truly 
characterised by Washington Irving. 
" Since the peace," says this writer, 
" he had returned to agricultural life, 
and was now a farmer at Pomfret, in Connecticut, 
where the scars of his wounds and the tales of his ex- 
ploits rendered him a hero in popular estimation." 
Soon after this " soldier of native growth," — as Irving 
calls Putnam, — " seasoned and proved in frontier cam- 
paigning," had been welcomed back by fellow-colonists, 
his happiness v^^as clouded by heavy sorrow. On Jan- 
uary 24, 1765, less than two months since the glad 
home reunion, death crossed the hero's threshold and 
bore away his daughter — just passing from girlhood 
into young womanhood — Elizabeth, seventeen years 
of age. In the following spring, April 6th, Putnam 
was again bereaved, this time of his devoted wife Han- 
nah. During their nearly twenty-six years of wedded 
life ten children in all had been born to them, of whom 
seven — three sons and four daughters — were living at 

147 



148 Israel Putnam 



1765- 



the time that the family was left motherless. The 
youngest child — a son, born on the last day of Decem- 
ber, — was now only three months old. He had been 
named Peter Schuyler. This was in grateful remem- 
brance of the kindness shown Putnam by Colonel Peter 
Schuyler during the days of captivity at Montreal in 

1758. 

It would seem that Putnam's affliction was the im- 
mediate reason for the greater interest which he took 
in religious things. Six weeks after the death of his 
wife, he became a member of the Congregational 
Church. " Received to full communion 1765 May 19th 
Col. Israel Putnam " is the record of the action as it 
appears in the original Brooklyn Parish register. This 
new relationship strengthened the friendship which 
already existed between himself and the kind and 
sympathetic pastor, Rev. Josiah Whitney. 

During the next two years Putnam made many 
needed improvements in cultivating his land ; and he 
gave, as he had done before the war, particular atten- 
tion to his fruit trees. An important event of neigh- 
bourhood interest at this period was the arrival, in the 
" Mortlake District," of Colonel Godfrey Malbone, a 
retired merchant. He was a graduate of King's Col- 
lege, Oxford, and had travelled widely. Having in- 
herited from his father a large estate in Newport, 
Rhode Island, he had built a country-house there at 
considerable cost, but no sooner was it finished than it 
was destroyed by fire. This misfortune, together with 
his financial embarrassments occasioned by the impend- 
ing American Revolution, led Malbone, who was a 
strong loyalist and, therefore, very unpopular, to 
remove from Newport early in 1766. His reason for 
coming to Pomfret was that he had already owned, for 



1772] The Honoured Citizen 149 

many years past, several thousand acres there, most 
of which land was included in the original Mortlake 
district. He hoped, in now settling upon and cultivat- 
ing this large estate in Eastern Connecticut, to suffer 
less than formerly on account of political troubles. 
This new townsman cared nothing for the Pomfret 
people in general ; indeed he kept aloof from them as 
much as possible. But to the farmer-soldier whose pro- 
perty adjoined his own he took a liking at once, for he 
found that this neighbour's horizon had been widened 
beyond local affairs by acquaintance with many of the 
best officers in the British army and by a remarkably 
adventurous career. So, in spite of Malbone's bluntness 
of manner and his indifference to Pomfret' s interests, a 
fellowship was soon established between himself and 
the friendly, open-hearted Putnam, who was ever 
ready with personal reminiscence and good-humoured 
repartee. 

Although the two men maintained pleasant personal 
relationships, their " verbal skirmishes " were not in- 
frequent, for they differed greatly in their opinions of 
the measures adopted by Parliament for raising money 
to defray the expenses of the French and Indian War, 
and to support, as a defence against the savages on the 
frontiers, a standing army in America. Unlike Mal- 
bone, who attempted to defend the policy of the Crown, 
Putnam was imbued with democratic principles and 
expressed himself strongly against that which seemed 
to him to be an encroachment on the rights of free-born 
Englishmen. His positive convictions were a result 
not only of his sturdy common sense, but also of his 
" occasional reading." Moreover, he was deeply sens- 
ible of the fact that the chartered government of 
Connecticut gave him and every fellow-inhabitant of 



150 Israel Putnam [1765- 

the colony a special right to protest against royal inter- 
ference. The attempts of the British Ministry, after 
the fall of the French power in Canada, to revive and 
enforce in America such revenue laws as the Naviga- 
tion Act and the Molasses Act, were obnoxious enough 
to most of the colonists, for the chief object of King 
George III. and his advisers evidently was to regulate 
commerce in the New World so that the greatest gain 
might accrue to the mother country. It was not strange, 
therefore, that the indignation of Americans, who re- 
sented all arbitrary requisitions, was still further 
aroused when they leared that Parliament intended to 
levy a direct tax upon them in order that thej' might 
help pay off the war debt. This proposed measure, the 
Stamp Act, which required all legal documents to 
bear stamps, was opposed by the colonists, not because 
they w^ere unwilling to aid in removing the national 
financial burdens, but because they recognised the in- 
justice of being taxed by a legislative body in which 
they were not represented. Vigorous were the remon- 
strances of the different assemblies against this method 
of raising money ; and Putnam's own colony took a 
leading part by sending her memorial to England, 
stating the " Reasons why the British colonies in 
America should not be charged with Internal Taxes." 
Despite the efforts to prevent the passage of the hated 
law, Parhament voted in its favour and, on March 22, 
1765, it received the King's assent. 

When the news of the enactment of the Stamp Act 
reached America, there was a great outburst of indig- 
nation. Months of intense agitation followed. While 
James Otis and Samuel Adams, in the North, and 
Patrick Henry, in the South, by speeches and resolu- 
tions, were arousing the people to action, and w^hile 



1772] The Honoured Citizen 151 

the different colonies were arranging for a general con- 
gress in order to decide upon some concerted course for 
resisting the arbitrary measures which subverted their 
rights, Putnam, who had joiiled one of the secret 
societies of workingmen known as " Sons of Liberty," 
was taking a leading part as a champion of freedom in 
Connecticut. We find him riding from town to town 
through the eastern part of the colony to see what num- 
ber of men could be relied upon to make an armed re- 
sistance to the obnoxious law. Reports of his patriotic 
energy spread to New York, as we learn from a British 
officer who was stationed there. 

"By advice from Connecticut," writes this contemporary, 
" matters are arrived to greater lengths than in any other pro- 
vince, having already provided themselves with a magazine for 
Arms, Ammunition, &c., and 10,000 men at the shortest warn- 
ing for opposing the Stamp Act, &c., all under the Command 
of a Connecticut man, called Col. Putnam, one that has re- 
ceived his Majesty's money, having been employ'd during the 
War as a Provincial Colonel." * 

Having so successfully stirred up the inhabitants of 
his own colony to oppose a measure, the principle of 
which was a greater insult to Connecticut than to any 
other colony except Rhode Island, Putnam sent mes- 
sages to the Sons of Liberty in Massachusetts, New 
York, and elsewhere, that he " would assist them with 
the [Connecticut] Militia to the utmost lives and 
fortunes to prevent the Stamp Act being enforced." 

At this period of the excitement, Putnam was sud- 
denly disabled by " an accident." Owing to this mis- 
fortune, the details of which have not come down to us, 
he was prevented for a while from taking any further 

* Collections of the New York Historical Society, 1881, p. 355. 



y 



152 Israel Putnam 



[1765- 



part in the general uprising. We can easil}' under- 
stand how the spirit of the impetuous patriot chafed at 
being kept at Pomfret while a great body of yeomen 
from Eastern Connecticut, whom he had expected to 
lead in person, started in September to meet Jared 
Ingersoll of New Haven, the stamp agent, who, it was 
reported, was on his way to Hartford to execute the 
duties of his office. Before Parliament passed the 
Stamp Act, Ingersoll had been sent to England to pro- 
test against the bill, but, after its enactment, so little did 
he realise the political ferment at home that he con- 
sented to serve as the distributer of the stamped paper 
in his own colony. Putnam must have enjoyed a 
hearty laugh when he heard how Ingersoll was inter- 
cepted on his approach to Hartford, how he was com- 
pelled to mount a table and read his resignation, which 
was already prepared for him, how he was made to 
shout three times, " Eiberty and property," and how, 
in continuing his journey, as he rode on his white 
horse, escorted by the great cavalcade of farmers and 
freeholders, he was heard to remark that he now under- 
stood the meaning of that passage in the Book of Re- 
velation which describes " Death on a pale horse and 
hell following him." 

Although this Connecticut affair ended in such good 
humour that Ingersoll .himself could indulge in pleas- 
antry, many of the opponents of the British Government 
were ready to act in a more violent manner. The Sons 
of Liberty declared that they would " fight up to their 
knees in blood rather than suffer the Stamp Act to be 
put in force." The agents who had in their possession 
the stamps destined for Connecticut dared not send 
them thither, one reason being the " report of a con- 
versation " which reached them in the late autumn of 



1772] The Honoured Citizen 153 

1765 from that colony. Putnam had recovered suflS- 
ciently from his recent injury to go to Hartford, and 
no sooner had he arrived there than he was delegated 
by the Sons of I^iberty to wait, with two others of their 
number, on Governor Thomas Fitch, who was inclined 
to submit to the royal will. 

"The questions of the Governor and the answers of Putnam," 
says Humphreys, who is our authority for the story of this in- 
terview, " will serve to indicate the spirit of the times. After 
some conversation the Governor asked, ' what he should do if 
the stamped paper should be sent to him by the King's author- 
ity?' Putnam replied, 'Lock it up until we [Sons of Liberty] 
shall visit you again.' 'And what will you do then?' 'We 
shall expect you to give us the key of the room in which it is 
deposited ; and, if you think fit, in order to screen yourself 
from blame, you may forewarn us upon our peril not to enter 
the room.' 'And what will you do afterwards?' 'Send it 
safely back again.' ' But what if I should refuse admission ? ' 
' In such case your house will be levelled with the dust in five 
minutes.' " 

Putnam's bold attitude, not only on this occasion, 
but also during the winter, helped to keep at high pitch 
the spirit of resistance and to foil the attempts of the 
stamp agents to enforce the law. The Sons of L,iberty, 
who assembled at Canterbury, Connecticut, in March, 
1766, chose him and Hugh Ledlie as the Windham 
County Committee to correspond with members of the 
secret organisation in the neighbouring colonies, in 
order to encourage firm and united action in opposing 
the Stamp Act. When delegates from the Sons of 
Liberty in every town in Connecticut met at Hartford 
in the same spring, Putnam was made chairman of 
a committee of eight who were appointed to carry on a 
similar correspondence. 

The people of Pomfret, proud of the recognised 



154 Israel Putnam 1765- 

leadership of their townsman, and knowing the import- 
ance of his influence in the colonial legislature, elected * 
him as one of their two representatives in 1766, his 
colleague being Jonathan Dresser. The members of 
the General Assembl}- were gathering at Hartford for 
the spring session of that year, when news arrived from 
England which was hailed with unbounded jo}' through- 
out the colonies. The Stamp Act, after fierce debate 
in Parliament, had been repealed. With enthusiastic 
delight, Putnam joined his fellow-legislators in request- 
ing " his Honour the Governor to consider of and pre- 
pare an humble, dutiful and loyal Address " of thanks 
to the King and also " to return the most ardent and 
grateful thanks of this Assembly to all those who have 
distinguished themselves as the friends and advocates of 
the British Colonies in x\merica." At Hartford, on Fri- 
day, May 23rd, Connecticut's " day for public Thanks- 
giving " because of the " beneficial repeal of the late 
Stamp Act," Putnam must have entered fully into the 
spirit of the " happy occasion," a day which was not 
only " religiously observed " but also celebrated by the 
ringing of bells, the display of colours on the shipping 
in the river, illuminations, and the firing of cannon. 
The General Assembly adjourned on May 30th, for, 
the quarrel with the King having been made up, 
nothing of special importance came before them to pro- 
long the session. Moreover, most of the members, 
being farmers, were eager to get home for the sum- 
mer's work. 

Soon after his return to Pomfret, Putnam was again 
the unfortunate victim of accident. Indeed, he met 
with two mishaps at this period. His right hand had 



* Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vol. xii. 



17-2] The Honoured Citizen 155 

scarcely healed, after the " loss of the first joint of the 
thumb" when a more serious hurt befell him, "the 
compound fracture of his right thigh "; " that thigh," 
Humphreys adds, " being rendered nearly an inch 
shorter than the left, occasioned him ever after to limp 
in his walk." When the time drew near for the October 
meeting of the General Assembl}' at New Haven, Put- 
nam, despite the difficulties of the journey thither for 
otie just recovering from a badly injured leg, ventured 
to go ; and there, as also three months later at Hart- 
ford, we find him representing Pomfret. In 1767, at 
both the May and October sessions, he was again a 
representative. His town associate this year was Col. 
Ebenezer Williams instead of Jonathan Dresser. 

On June 3, 1767, a little more than two years after 
the death of his wife Hannah, Putnam was again 
united in marriage. This second wife was Mrs. 
Deborah Lothrop Gardiner, widow of John Gardiner, 
the fifth proprietor of Gardiner's Island (now a part of 
the township of Easthampton, Suffolk Co., N. Y.), to 
whom she had been married nine 3'ears before his death, 
which occurred in 1764. By her first husband, Rev. 
Ephraim Avery, pastor of Brooklyn Parish, who died 
in 1754, she had a son Ephraim, at this time a clergy- 
man of the Church of England. Her daughter and 
son, Hannah and Septimus, by her husband Gardiner, 
were now respectively nine and seven years old. 

The marriage of Putnam to Madame Gardiner 

" gave new diguitj' to his social position," so writes Miss Lamed, 
in her interesting annals of Windham County, "bringing him 
into connection with many prominent families, and with that 
ecclesiastic element so potent in Connecticut at this period. 
Mrs. Putnam had a large circle of friends and much social 
experience. Her husband was the most popular man of the 



156 Israel Putnam 1765- 

day. Their hospitable home drew throngs of visitants. Every 
soldier passing through Windham County would go out 
of his way to call on his beloved Colonel. Relatives, friends, 
travelling ministers, distinguished strangers, and gushing pa- 
triots came in such numbers that their entertainment became 
very burdensome. A Virginian Jefferson would submit to such 
an invasion, though it made him bankrupt ; a Yankee Putnam 
could contrive to turn it into profit or at least save himself from 
ruin. Finding that his estate could not support such an ex- 
cessive outlay, Putnam met the emergency with one of his 
sudden strokes, removed his residence to the Avery estate on 
Brooklyn Green and opened his house for general public 
accommodation." * 

This change in Putnam's home was made more 
practicable by the fact that his son Israel, twenty-seven 
years of age, who had recentlj' married Sarah Waldo 
of Pomfret, was glad to set up housekeeping at the old 
homestead and carry on the work of the farm. Han- 
nah, Putnam's eldest daughter, already had a home of 
her own, for she was the wife of an enterprising young 
man of the town, John Winchester Dana, who, a few 
years later, removed to the New Hampshire Grants and 
became an early settler of Pomfret, Vermont. Putnam's 
young daughters, Mehitable, Mary, and Eunice, .seem 
to have divided their time in living in their brother 
Israel's family and at the home at the " Green," while 
the other children, Daniel and little Peter, like their 
step-mother's son and daughter, were permanent mem- 
bers of the household at the latter place. 

On a tree in front of his new home Putnam hung a 
tavern-sign which is in existence. f This " token of 



* Ellen D. Larned, History of Windham County, Connecticut^ 
vol. ii., p. 6. 

f This tavern-sign is now kept in the rooms of the Connecti- 
cut Historical Society at Hartford. 




PUTNAM'S SIGN. 

FROM OfilGINAL TAVERN StGN NOW KEPT IN 
ROOMS OF CONNECTiCUT HISTORICAL 
SOCIETY, HARTFORD, CONN. 



i I. 



1772] The Honoured Citizen 157 

rest and good cheer for the weary wayfarer" was 
quaintly yet correctly described by William Cutter, 
many years ago : 

"It represents General Wolfe in full uniform, his eye fixed in 
an expression of fiery earnestness upon some distant object, and 
his right arm extended in emphatic gesture, as if charging on 
the foe or directing some other important movement of his 
army. The sign seems to have fared hardly in one respect, 
being plentifully sprinkled with shot-holes." 

It is easy to picture to ourselves Israel Putnam as 
the host of an old-time inn. Large and stout in figure, 
with round, good-natured face and hospitable manner, 
he was the typical landlord, heartily welcoming his 
guests and entertaining them with tales of his varied 
experiences, his numerous adventures on land and 
water, and hairbreadth escapes from fire and sword. 
This tavern, with its distinguished host and equally 
cordial hostess, became one of the best-known gather- 
ing-places in Eastern Connecticut, and was associated 
with many an interesting incident in Revolutionary 
days. Around the large hearthstone were discussed 
the vital questions of the colonial crisis that stirred the 
soul of every ardent patriot. Putnam's tavern was a 
centre, also, for news of local interest; because here, as 
at other inns in the olden days, were posted notices of 
town meetings, of elections, of new laws, and notices 
of administration, as well as bills of sales, of auctions, 
and records of transfers. The inn was, indeed, an 
" original business exchange," and the genial Putnam 
found much social enjoyment in the intercourse with 
the neighbours and townspeople who flocked to the 
tavern for information in regard to local affairs as well 
as the matters of wider importance. The arrival and 



158 Israel Putnam 1765- 

departure of the coaches loaded with travellers held a 
high place among the chief events in the village. 
Many a merry scene there was in the winter, too, 
when sleighs dashed up to the cheerful tavern entrance. 
Landlord and landlady were ready with their greeting, 
and soon all the new guests were in full enjoyment of 
the thrifty, homelike comforts. 

The position of innkeeper in Old New England was 
one of eminent respectability, and it was as true of 
Putnam at Pomfret as of the Enfield landlord of whom 
John Adams wrote: " he was the great man of the 
town, their representative as well as tavern keeper." 
William Gordon, the contemporary of Putnam, makes 
this interesting mention of the hero and his position as 
tavern keeper : 

"Col. Putnam served with the Counecticut troops under 
Amherst in the last war. By his courage and conduct he 
secured to himself a good share of reputation. When peace 
commenced he returned to the civil line of life. Of late he has 
occupied a tavern with a farm annexed to it. Such a junction 
is frequent in New England, and the occupation not at all in- 
consistent with a Roman character." * 

It was in 1763, soon after Putnam returned from the 
Havana campaign, that the Pomfret people chose him 
as one of their selectmen. Twice afterwards — in 1765 
and 1771 — he was elected to this office of local import- 
ance, which was bestowed only upon persons of " wis- 
dom and uprightness." The old records show that he 
was made moderator of the town-meeting in 1769, and 
that he served the next year, with Seth Paine and 
Samuel Williams, on the committee appointed to super- 
intend the rebuilding of " Danielson's Bridge " across 



History of the Independence of the United States. 



1772] The Honoured Citizen 159 

the Quitiebaug River. Other local afifairs there were 
with which Putnam's name is associated during this 
period — such as la^dng out new roads, re-arranging 
school-districts, engaging schoolmasters and collecting 
taxes. When the Pomfret farmers found it necessary 
to take concerted action to prevent further depredations 
by their common enemy, the crows, they voted " to 
give bounty of sixpence on each crow's head and two 
pence on each young crow's head that shall be killed," 
and for several successive years " Col. Israel Putnam 
was chosen to receive the crows' heads." 

In ecclesiastical affairs, too, Putnam had a part. He 
was one of the four " messengers " or lay deputies who 
met with three ministers in council, on November 2, 
1770, at Canterbury, and gave their assent to the 
organisation of the " Westminster Society " in the 
western part of that town. In the Brooklyn Parish or 
Society to which he belonged, Putnam was one of the 
most active advocates for a new meeting-house to 
replace the old one, which, with its shaky timbers 
patched roof, and boarded windows, was in a very 
dilapidated condition. The doughty Godfrey Malbone, 
unwilling to pay his share of the money needed for the 
construction of the new "schism shop," as he called 
it, attempted to defeat the parish plans. Finding his 
efforts unsuccessful, he determined to establish, in 
Pomfret, public worship according to the rites and 
ceremonies of the Church of England, of which he was 
a member. Thus he hoped not only to obtain exemp- 
tion from additional taxation, but also to aid the loyal- 
ist cause by maintaining the services of the Established 
Church of the country to which the colony was subject. 
He found some followers in this movement, and soon 
set carpenters to work building a church in his part of 



i6o Israel Putnam 1765- 

the town, at a distance of about a mile and a half from 
the Green.* 

Meanwhile the Brooklyn people, incited to renewed 
activity by the opposition of Colonel Malbone, took 
definite steps in regard to their own edifice. The loca- 
tion chosen for it was a few rods south-east of the old 
meeting-house, and nearly opposite Putnam's tavern. 
The building, when finished, was described as " a very 
genteel meeting-house." It was of the old New-Eng- 
land type, large and plain. The exterior was painted 
white, and the spire was a landmark to the country 
around. In the recorded details of this important local 
enterprise Putnam's name occupies a conspicuous 
place for faithfulness in the general oversight of the 
work. With money received by bequest from Joseph 
Scarborough, a bell — a source of great pride to the 
community — was purchased and hung in the steeple 
just before the new meeting-house was used for the first 
time. In such high repute was a bell-ringer and sexton 
in those days, that only the most honoured citizen was 
deemed worthy of serving in that position. It was for 
this reason that the parish took the following action on 
September 28, 1772 : 

" Votea that Col. Putnam take care of the new meeting-house 
and ring the bell at the price of three pounds the year ensuing." 

It was decided at that time that the bell should be 



* It is an interesting fact that, in after years, when local re- 
ligious prejudices had in large measure passed away, Putnam's 
sons, Israel and Daniel, became devoted Churchmen and earn- 
est supporters of the services which Colonel Malbone had 
been instrumental in starting. The old Trinity Church is still 
standing in Brooklyn, Conn. So is also the meeting-house 
which Putnam helped to build. 



■t^ 



1772] 



The Honoured Citizen 



i6i 



rung on " Sabbaths, Fasts, Thanksgivings and at 
Lectures as is customary at other places where they 
have bells, also to ring it at 12 o'clock at noon and 9 
at night." 

The following winter, while Putnam was away from 
home on the Southern trip which is described in the 
next chapter, Pastor Whitney took his place as bell- 
ringer, for the minister was considered the only fit 
person to perform the duties of this responsible and 
honoured position during the absence of the Colonel 
himself. 





CHAPTER XIII 



A MILITARY ADVENTURER 




1772-1773 

OR nearly ten years General Phineas 
Ivyman had been in England, attempt- 
ing to obtain a grant of land from the 
British Government for the provincial 

soldiers who had survived the French 

and Indian War. Numerous obstacles, 
including a change of ministry, had disappointed him 
again and again in his efforts until he became broken 
in mind as well as in spirit. In 1772, however, so con- 
fident was Lyman of having secured at last the long- 
desired object, that he returned to America ; and in 
November of that year the " Company of Military Ad- 
venturers," an association " composed," as the old 
records say, " chiefly of such as had been officers and 
soldiers during the preceding war," met at Hartford, 
Connecticut, to hear his report. He stated that " an 
order had passed the King in Council authorising the 
Governor of West Florida to grant lands in that pro- 
vince to the provincials in the same proportions as had 
been provided for His Majesty's regular troops." 

" Lymau brought no document on the subject," writes Rufus 
Putnam, who was present at the Hartford gathering, "but his 

162 






1772-73] A Military Adventurer 163 

report was so far relied on, that the meeting voted to explore 
the lands, and for that purpose appointed a Committee." 

"Col. [Israel] Putnam, Capt. [Roger] Enos, Mr. Thaddeus 
Lyman and myself," he adds, "were the Exploring Committee." 

The members of the Exploring Committee were to 
sail from New York on board the sloop Mississippi, 
which was provided by the association of Military Ad- 
venturers. Before leaving home for that city, Israel 
was joined by his kinsman and former comrade-in- 
arms, who, like himself, had been chosen to go South. 
Rufus Putnam was living on a farm at Brookfield, 
Massachusetts, which he had purchased soon after the 
close of the French and Inaian War. For several 
years past he had devoted his spare time to the study 
of surveying, in which he had become ver}' proficient, 
and it was because of the special service which he could 
render in making a plan of the lands when they were 
being reconnoitred, that he had been appointed on the 
Committee. 

On the arrival of Rufus, the Colonel, with his son 
Daniel, now a lad of thirteen years, whom he was to 
take with him South, was ready to set out at once from 
Pomfret. The journey was made on horseback to 
Norwich, and from there in a sloop across Long Island 
Sound and down the East River. On the day that he 
reached New York, Israel Putnam began a diary * — a 
veritable literary puzzle, in its naive disregard of all 
rules of punctuation and spelling. He tells of the dan- 
gerous approach to New York and how the time was 
spent after reaching there : 



* This diary was written by Putnam on the blank pages of 
the Orderly Book of the Havana Campaign, now in the posses- 
sion of Charles Otis Thompson of Pomfret, Conn. 



164 Israel Putnam [1772- 

" Sunday y^ 20 [of December, 1772] — pas[s]ed heal gait [Hell 
Gate] and had all like to have ben lost by reason of a bad pilot 
but got through Wei— arived at New york about 12 aclock — in 
ye aftornone Went to hear Doctor rogos [Rev. Dr. John Rod- 
gers, pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church] preach 

" Monday y« 21 — Cap! Laidley and Cap'. Godrich Sat about 
rigeng and Loding y« vesel. 

"tusday y"^ 22 — it proved varey raney so that thare was but 
leatel to be don 

" Wednesday y<= 23 — good weathor all hands at worke prepar- 
ing the vesel 

" thorsday 24 — varey raney and Durtey weathor but leatel 
Don." 

The New Englander was unaccustomed to the hoH- 
day observances by the inhabitants of this city of Dutch 
customs and traditions : 

"friday y<= 25 [of December] — crismos day — Nothing to be 
Don hear — not so much as is ginoreley one [on] Sunday in this 
partofy'' World. 

"Satorday y^ 26 — hollow Days [holidays] heare." 

The departure from New York was not until two 
weeks later. During the intervening time the Colonel 
made brief entries in his diary as follows : 

"Sunday y« 27 [of December] — this Day weant to y<= oald 
englesh Church [Trinity Church] to hear M^ Ahmodey [the 
Rev. Samuel Auchmuty, the rector]— Dined with M^ WilUam 
Halet 

"monday 28~had a good Day to work in — all hands busy at 
work 

"tusday 29— purchesed 4 swinds [swine] and hired 4 low 
horns [cattle] for y^ voige [voyage] 

"Wednesday y« 30 — varey weat and raney but leatel to be 
don 

" thursday y« 31— the men employed it taken in goods for 
y^ voige 



1773] A Military Adventurer 165 

"friday y<= forst of Jeuauary 1773 — this Day no work don — 
went to Church — Dined at M"^ Petor Vandevort niarchant 

"Satordaj' y« 2 — this day taking in goods for y<= voige — good 
weathor 

"Sunday y<^ 3 — this day weant to hear M' Leavenston [Rev. 
Dr. John Henry Ivivingston, pastor of the North Dutch Re- 
formed Church] in y^ morning and M^ Leadley [Rev. Dr. 
Archibald Laidie of the Middle Dutch Reformed Church] in 
y^ evening — two varey Good sarmons 

" Monday y«4— this day was varey pleasant — the men all im- 
ployed in loding and painting the vesal 

" tusday y« 5 this Day Lowring weat weathor but letel Don 

" Wednesday y^ 6 — good weathor — all hands at work taking 
in stores 

"thorsday y'^ 7— this was a varey good Day and had almost 
all completed 

" friday y'^ 8 1773 — this day compleated the whole of the 
cargo 

"Satorday y'^ 9 of Jenauary — had all things one bord and 
ready for saling But the wind was so much to y^ south it would 
not Do." 

At last, on Sunday, January 10, 1773, about eleven 
o'clock in the morning, the Committee of Military 
Adventurers on board the sloop Mississippi were out- 
ward bound. During the next two weeks Israel Put- 
nam made a brief record each day of the wind and, 
when an observation was pos.sible, of the latitude. 
Unfavourable weather delayed at times the passage, but 
fortunately no heavy storms were encountered. On 
Monday, January 25th, the sloop crossed the Tropic of 
Cancer, and a few days later was near Turk's Island 
among the Bahama Islands, sailing for a short time in 
company with a schooner which was wrecked soon 
afterwards on a reef of rocks in that vicinity. On 
Saturday, January 30th, the Mississippi entered the 
fine harbour of St. Nicholas' Mole on the north-west 



i66 Israel Putnam [1772- 

extremity of the island of Haiti. The sloop remained 
here four days, and during that time the passengers 
went on shore several times. The place was an import- 
ant trading station, there being at that time about 
eight}^ vessels in the harbour, which number, Israel 
Putnam was told by some of the inhabitants, " was not 
above half so many as is usually here." 

In proceeding southward, on February 4th, the voy- 
agers saw on their left the rocky coast of Haiti, which 
rose in level plains or ledges. On the right, the view 
of Cuba, which Israel Putnam mentions in his diary, 
must have vividly reminded both Captain Roger Enos 
and himself of the perilous experiences ten years be- 
fore, when they were wrecked off that island in the 
dreadful Havana campaign. On Sunday, February 
7th, the sloop neared the north coast of Jamaica, and, 
passing by the ports of Saint Ann and Martha Brae, 
reached Montego Bay the next morning about eleven 
o'clock. After dinner the passengers went on shore. 
Their visit to one of the Jamaica plantations in the 
vicinity was disturbed by a savage dog. In the canine 
encounter Israel unceremoniously fell into a rum vat. 
He tells the incident in his characteristic style: 

"waited on y^ mannegor of the plantation who tre[a]ted ous 
very hamseley [handsomely] — walked with ous — Shewed ous all 
y^ Works and the mills to grind ye Cain and as we went in 
thare was a dog atacked y'^ nianegor and in y^ figh[t] I tum- 
belled into won of the vats that was full of Liquer to make rum 
of— shifted all my Cloths and went on horde" 

The next day Israel made this entry : 

" tusday y'= 9 of febuary 1773 — "this morning went one 
Shore we that had had the small pox and non eals [no one else] 
for we found it was vary thick all over y« town — went back to 



1773] A Military Adventurer 167 

the plantation— got my cloths — Bough[t] som fruit but it was 
vary hard to be got by reson it was not Sunday — about 2 a Clock 
we went one borde — Dinned — Waied ancor and took our Leave 
of montego bay " 

From Jamaica the course was north-west towards 
Cape San Antonio, Cuba. The weather became oppres- 
sively hot and a calm retarded the progress of the vessel. 
On reaching Cape San Antonio after a week of slow 
sailing, a bargain for tortoises with some Spaniards, who 
came out in a canoe, was interrupted by the approach 
of a schooner which Captain Goodrich feared was a 
guard-coaster. The crew of the strange vessel secured 
the tortoises which the Military Adventurers them- 
selves had expected to purchase. The sloop H/issis- 
sippi was now headed directly for Pensacola, Florida, 
but contrary winds and stormy weather were soon 
encountered. It required ten days to reach that de- 
stination. Among the officers stationed at Pensacola, 
which was then the centre of English interests on the 
Gulf shore, were two old associates of Israel Putnam 
in the French and Indian War, — General Frederick 
Haldimand and Major John Small. The latter was the 
intimate friend whose life he afterwards saved at the 
battle of Bunker Hill. The new arrivals were hos- 
pitably received. To their surprise and disappoint- 
ment, however, the Military Adventurers found that 
no royal instructions had been received. 

"Governor Chester and his Council," writes Rufus Putnam, 
"treated us in the most obliging manner; but, alas, no order 
for granting Lands to the provincials had arrived ; this was a 
mortifying circumstance ; however the possibility of its yet 
arriving, with the proposal made for granting Lands to the 
company on terms within the power of the Governor and 
Council induced the Committee to resolve on proceeding on 



1 68 Israel Putnam [1772- 

the business of reconnoitring the country on the Mississippi 
and to make such Surveys as we might think proper." 

Two weeks after their arrival at Pensacola, the Mili- 
tary Adventurers set sail in their sloop to explore the 
Mississippi River as far north as the Yazoo, trusting 
that during their absence the orders from the King for 
the land grants would be received by Governor Ches- 
ter. After going a short distance they were obliged to 
drop anchor on account of the contrar}^ wind. Israel 
Putnam improved the opportunity for his favourite pas- 
time by going ashore to hunt. He notes how he took 
a walk into the woods, got a shot at a fine buck, 
wotinded him but could not catch him, and came back 
tired and hungr3^ The wind shifted on March i8th ; 
then the sloop got well under way and was soon out of 
sight of land. Four days later the Military Adventur- 
ers, after considerable difficulty, entered the mouth of 
the Mississippi. On the way up the river Israel, with 
a companion, made several reconnoissances in a whale- 
boat. On one of these trips he shot three alligators. 
His diary abruptly ends with a record of his visit on 
Sunday, March 28th, to a hospitable French settler 
whose plantation bordered the river. Information in 
regard to the remainder of the expedition is found in 
the writings of Rufus Putnam. From him we learn 
that New Orleans was reached on March 30th. More 
than a week was spent at this chief port on the river. 
Then Captain Goodrich, for reasons which were prob- 
ably connected with Spanish restrictions on navigation 
northward, " refused to proceed any further with the 
sloop." The Military Adventurers, therefore, embarked 
in a bateau April 8th. They made such good pro- 
gress that three days later they reached an Acadian 
settlement, seventy-one miles above New Orleans. 



1773] A Military Adventurer 169 

Among these people, who, the chronicler notes, " were 
removed by the English from Nova Scotia," the mem- 
bers of the exploring party tarried a whole day and 
were treated with hospitality, listening with interest 
to the stories of innumerable hardships and sad experi- 
ences which the exiles told. In advancing farther up 
the Mississippi, several Indian villages and French 
settlements were passed. On April 26th the historic 
spot, Fort Rosalie at Natchez, was reached. 

The Military Adventurers had now advanced nearly 
four hundred miles up the current of the mighty river, 
and it was with great interest that they neared the 
region where they intended to make a special recon- 
noissance. Having left Natchez Wednesday after- 
noon, April 28th, they advanced by boat nearly fifty 
miles to the mouth of the Bayou Pierre. They went 
up this tributary seventeen miles to the Forks, and 
there they marked a tree " for commencing our Loca- 
tion." Then they returned down the Bayou Pierre 
and proceeded up the Mississippi, the same day, nine 
miles, to the Great Gulf, where Thomas James, an In- 
dian trader, had settled. Three miles above was the 
Big Black River; and on Thursday, after the explorers 
had rowed past that stream, two of their number, Israel 
Putnam and Thaddeus Lyman, set off by land, with a 
Choctaw Indian as guide, for the Walnut Hills, be- 
tween fifty and sixty miles distant, which formed a 
portion of the great bluff bounding the valley of the 
Mississippi on the East. The rest of the party made 
their way to the same hills by water, and on their 
arrival there, Saturday evening, the 8th, met " the 
gentlemen who came by Land" from whom they 
learned that the route was through a flat country and 
cypress swamps, that the cane brakes were so thick it 



170 Israel Putnam [1772- 

was not possible to examine the land from the path. 
After reaching the high grounds of the Yazoo, Israel 
Putnam and his companion, who had made their way 
thither across the countrj^ while the other men went 
around by boat, wished to make a further reconnois- 
sance overland, but the threatening attitude of their 
Choctaw guide prevented them from carrying out all 
their plans. The Indian was unable to state his 
reasons in words, for he was as ignorant of the Eng- 
lish language as the men whom he had been guiding 
were of the Choctaw speech. His gesticulations and 
other efforts to make his meaning known proved unin- 
telligible. Later, through Trader James as interpreter, 
he explained that he had met two chiefs on the Yazoo 
River who forbade his conducting any of the party over 
the proposed route to the Big Black River. 

Under date of Thursday, May 13th, Rufus Putnam 
records : 

"Colo. Putnam & Mr. Lymau & myself Set out by Land, 
more perticulerly to examin the high Lands, Stretching from 
the old French Station [on the Yazoo River], to the Walnut 
hills ; we Steared our course as neer the hills as possible on 
account of the Cane brakes. Saw Several Small Streams 
issuing from the high Lands, & land very rich ; in the after- 
noon we pursued one of these Streams to Some distence, when 
we were taken up by a mighty Cane Brake, here Colo. Putnam 
climbed a tree & discovered high Land at about 100 rods distent 
which we were two hours in gaining, on account of the diflB- 
culty of giting through the Cane . . . we returned part of 
the way down the hill & Camped by a very fine Spring." 

After their return to Trader James's plantation, the 
same three Military Adventurers started on another 
trip : 

" Monday May 17th. Colo. Putnam, Mr. Lyman & myself," 



1773] A Military Adventurer 171 

says Rufus Putnam, " Set out to explore the Lauds on the Big 
Black . . . Thursday May 20, we returned down the river to 
Mr. James' where we found the Second Chief of Chactau Nation 
waiting for us." 

This Indian chief was " Mingo-oma, whose name is 
also Snake-head." He showed the explorers a com- 
mission which he had once received from Governor 
Chester, granting certain rights in this region to the 
Choctaws. The chief now declared, through Inter- 
preter James, that his nation would permit " no white 
people " to settle above the Big Black River. 

On account of the savage hostility to their recon- 
noitring northward, the party proceeded down the 
Mississippi, and on Wednesday, June 2nd, arrived at 
Manchac, having on their way thither spent " con- 
siderable time in exploring the I^ands near the river 
on the English or West Florida Side." A few miles 
below Manchac they found their sloop, which had ad- 
vanced nearly one hundred miles above New Orleans 
to meet them. Owing to various delays, a whole 
month was spent in sailing back to Pensacola. Here 
the Military Adventurers were disappointed again in 
regard to the land-grants. No letters had arrived from 
England authorising the appropriations. The Explor- 
ing Committee succeeded, however, in obtaining from 
Governor Chester and his Council certain rights for 
provincial veterans to settle on the lands which they 
had reconnoitred. Then they made preparations to 
return to the North, and on Thursday, July 15th, the 
sloop Mississippi was homeward bound. After a dis- 
agreeable voyage of three weeks, the passengers 
reached New York in safety on Friday, August 6th. 
" Col. Putnam, his son Daniel and myself," writes 
Rufus Putnam the next day, " took passage in a sloop 



172 Israel Putnam [1772 73 

for Norwich, but on our way sprung the mast, and with 
some difficulty arrived at New I^ondon on Tuesday, 
the loth." He adds : 

" Wednesday August nth — quit the sloop & took passag in 
a Row boate for Norwich 

" Thursday August I2th — came on Horseback to Colo. Put- 
uams & Friday 13th arrived at my owu house in Brookfield." 

Although Israel Putnam did not again visit the 
Mississippi, he was one of the provincial officers who 
made preliminary arrangements for cultivating a tract 
of land on that river, but all such plans were put to an 
end by the outbreak of the American Revolution with 
its momentous issues. 




CHAPTER XIV 

AN ARDENT PATRIOT 



1773-1774 




,y,'j,',>,'d,{^ >^Y'E'R since the repeal of the Stamp Act, 
George III. of England had been eager 
to re-assert his authority in America. 
The opportunity came when his friend, 
Charles Townshend, Chancellor of the 
Exchequer, secured the passage by 
Parliament, in 1767, of revenue bills which upheld the 
royal policy of taxation without representation. Eord 
North, who succeeded Townshend and, in 1770, be- 
came Prime Minister of England, attempted to enforce 
the tyrannical laws, but the resistance of the colonies 
led him to remove all duties except on tea. The .spirit 
of opposition having been weakened in several colonies 
by the partial concession, the British Government as- 
sisted the East India Company in shipping a quantity 
of tea to America, but the Massachusetts people, who 
were among the strongest denouncers of the arbitrary 
course of the King, adopted a most effectual method of 
preventing the landing of the cargoes which were in- 
tended for Boston. A party of citizens, disguised as 
Indians, boarded the vessels which had arrived in the 

173 



174 Israel Putnam [1773- 

harbour, ripped open the tea-chests and poured the 
contents into the water. 

This incident of the " Boston Tea Party " occurred 
just four months after Putnam returned in the summer 
of 1 773 from his Southern voyage. Ardent patriot that 
he was, he thoroughly sympathised with the Massa- 
chusetts leaders in their bold defiance of the King. 
Their course seemed to him justified by the repeated 
encroachments on colonial rights. This fellow-feeling 
was further aroused when, in the spring of 1774, came 
the news that Parliament had passed certain retaliatory 
acts to punish the Boston men for contempt of the 
royal authority. The object of the Boston Port Bill 
was to starve and frighten the rebellious citizens into 
submission by closing their port and stopping trade ; 
the Regulating Act disannulled the charter of Massa- 
chusetts, destroyed her free government, and provided 
for a military governor who should have despotic 
power. 

Several years previous, Parliament, regarding Bos- 
ton as a disorderly town, had sent troops there, but 
after the Boston Massacre — the tragic collision of 
March 5, 1770, caused by the unwillingness of the 
citizens to be treated as a conquered people — the 
soldiers had been withdrawn to Castle William. Now 
that retaliatory acts had been enacted, an armed force 
was again quartered in the city. This harsh measure, 
together with the revengeful spirit shown by the Brit- 
ish Government in the passage of the Port Bill, pro- 
voked greater indignation than ever throughout the 
colonies. 

As soon as the law which stopped the trade of Bos- 
ton went into effect on June i, 1774, public meetings 
were held in Connecticut, as elsewhere, to consider the 



1774] An Ardent Patriot i75 

matter of tendering relief to those who were " suffering 
in a common cause." So hearty was the response to 
the suggestion in regard to voluntary contributions 
that there soon began to flow, from every direction 
towards Boston, gifts of food and other needed articles 
as well as money. Committees of Correspondence were 
appointed in different towns to circulate all important 
news and to decide upon some concerted course of action 
in case of emergencies. Brooklyn Parish made Israel 
Putnam the chairman of its committee, which was com- 
posed, besides himself, of Joseph Holland and Daniel 
Tyler, Jr. These three men prepared a letter for the 
Boston patriots which was full of glowing sentiment 
and practical sympathy. Here it is : 

"BROOKr,YN IN POMFRET, 

"August nth, 1774. 

" Gentlemen, 

"With our hearts deeply impressed with the feelings of 
humanity towards our near and dear brethren of Boston, who 
are now suffering under a ministerial, revengeful hand, and at 
the same time full of gratitude to the patriotic inhabitants, for 
the noble stand which they have made against all oppressive 
innovations, and with unfeigned love for all British America, 
who must, if Boston is subjugated, alternately fall a prey to 
ministerial ambition, we send you one hundred and twenty-five 
sheep, as a present from the inhabitants of Brooklyn, hoping 
thereby you may be enabled to stand more firm (if possible) in 
the glorious cause in which you are embarked, notwithstanding 
the repeated, unheard of daring attacks, which the British Par- 
liament are making upon the rights which you ought to enjoy 
as English-born subjects ; and if so, we shall of consequence 
contribute our mite towards the salvation of British America, 
which is all our ambition. 

" In zeal in our country's cause, we are exceeded by none ; 
but our abilities and opportunities do not admit of our being of 



176 Israel Putnam [1773- 

that weiglit in the American scale as we would to God we 
were. 

" We mean in the first place, to attempt to appease the fire 
(raised by your committing the India Tea to the watery element 
as a merited oblation to Neptune) of an ambitious and vindictive 
minister, by the blood of rams and of lambs ; if that do not an- 
swer the end, we are ready to march in the van, and to sprinkle 
the American altars with our heart's blood, if occasion should 
be. 

" The latent seeds of destruction which are implanted in the 
constitution of almost every state or empire, have grown in 
England, in these last nine years, with amazing rapidity, and 
now are mature for harvest ; and ere long we shall see reapers 
flocking from all parts of Europe, who will sweep their fields 
with the besom of destruction. This thought occasions a cloud 
of melancholy to arise in the breast of every descendant from 
Britain, which is only dissipated by the pleasing prospect every 
American has before him ! Here we have an unbounded, fertile 
country, worth contending for with blood ! Here bribery and 
corruption, which are certain forebodings of a speedy dissolu- 
tion, are as yet only known by names. To us, ere long, Britain's 
glory will be transferred, where it will shine with accumulated 
brilliancy. 

"We cannot but rejoice with you, on account of the union 
and firmness of the Continent. The public virtue now exibited 
by the Americans, exceeds all of its kind that can be produced 
in the annals of the Greeks and Romans. Behold them from 
North and South, from East to West, striving to comfort the 
town of Boston, both by publishing their sentiments in regard 
to the present tyrannical administration, and by supporting 
their poor with provision, who, otherwise, in this present stag- 
nation of business, would have reduced the opulent to a state 
of penury and despair in a short time. 

"You are held up as a spectacle to the whole world. All 
Christendom are longing to see the event of the American con- 
test. And do, most notable citizens, play your part manfully, 
of which, we make no doubt, your names are either to be held 
in eternal veneration, or execration. If you stand out, your 
names cannot be too much applauded by all Europe, and all 



1774] An Ardent Patriot i77 

future generations, which is the hearty desire and wish of us, who 
are, with utmost respect, your obedient and humble servants. 
" ISRAEi, Putnam, a Committee of Corre- 
" Joseph Hoi,i.and, >■ spondeuce for the 
" DanieIv Tyler, Jr. J Parish of Brooklyn. 
"ToSamuEi* Adams, Esq., Chairman to the Committee of 
Correspondence, Boston."* 

It was decided that Putnam himself should be the 
bearer of this letter, and he accordingly set out at once 
on horseback for Boston, nearly a hundred miles dis- 
tant, driving before him the flock of sheep, Brooklyn's 
gift to the distressed town. On reaching Boston, Put- 
nam became the honoured guest of the young physician 
who had already taken a leading part in championing 
the colonial cause. 

In the postscript to a letter addressed to his bosom 
friend, Samuel Adams, Dr. Joseph Warren wrote : 

"The celebrated Colonel Putnam is now in my house, having 
arrived, since I subscribed this letter [dated Boston, August 15, 
1774]) with a generous donation of sheep." f 

Putnam remained in Boston several days as Warren's 
guest. The newspapers, in announcing his presence 
in town, spoke of him as one of the " greatest military 
characters of the age," a person whose " bravery and 
character need no description," for 

"he is so well known throughout North America that no words 
are necessary to inform the public any further concerning him 
than that his generosity led him to Boston to cherish his op- 
pressed brethren and support them by every means in his 
power. A fine drove of sheep was one article of comfort he 
was commissioned to present us with." :j: 

* Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Fourth 
Series, vol. iv., pp. 50-52. 

f Life and Times of foseph Warren, by Richard Frothingham. 
X Boston Gazette, 1774. 



178 Israel Putnam [1773- 

One of the most aggressive patriots, Dr. Tliomas 
Young, who, like Warren, was a member of the Boston 
Committee of Correspondence, was especially cordial in 
greeting Putnam and found keen delight in the un- 
flinching stand which the Connecticut leader took 
in defending the colonial rights in arguments with 
some of the British officers. 

"The old hero, Puttiam," writes Dr. Young in a letter, 
August 19th, " arrived in town on Monday, bringing with him 
one hundred and thirty sheep from the little parish of Brooklyn. 
He cannot get away, he is so much caressed both by officers 
and citizens. He has had a long combat with Major Small, in 
the political way, much to the disadvantage of the latter. He 
looks fresh and hearty, and, on an emergency, would be as 
likely to do good business as ever." 

A fragment of the conversation to which Dr. Young 
refers gives us a good idea of the patriotic attitude 
maintained by Putnam in the "combat" with his 
friend and former comrade-in-arms : 

" Twenty ships-of-the-line and twenty regiments," 
said Major Small, " may be expected from Kngland in 
case a submission is not speedily made by Boston." 

" If they come," was the bold reply, " I am ready to 
treat them as enemies." 

At the British headquarters on Boston Common 
Putnam met Lord Percy and Colonel Sheriff. Here he 
found, too, several officers with whom he had served in 
the French and Indian War, besides General Thomas 
Gage himself, who had been appointed military gov- 
ernor of Boston. These old friends, after warmly wel- 
coming Putnam, bantered him about coming down to 
the fight. Humphreys gives an interesting account of 
these " amicable interviews." This was the " tenor " 
of them, he says, as " our hero hath often told me " : 



1774] An Ardent Patriot 179 

" Being often questioned, ' in case the dispute should proceed 
to hostilities, what part he would really take?' he [Putnam] 
always answered, ' with his country ; and that, let whatever 
might happen, he was prepared to abide the consequence,' 
Being interrogated, ' whether he, who had been a witness to 
the prowess and victories of the British fleets and armies, did 
not think them equal to the conquest of a country which was 
not the owner of a single ship, regiment or magazine ? ' he re- 
joined, that ' he could only say, justice would be on our side, 
and the event with Providence ; but that he had calculated, if 
it required six years for the combined forces of England and 
her colonies to conquer such a feeble country as Canada, it 
would, at least, take a very long time for England alone to 
overcome her own widely extended colonies, which were much 
stronger than Canada ; that when men fought for everything 
dear, in what they believed to be the most sacred of all causes, 
and in their own native land, they would have great advantages 
over their enemies who were not in the same situation ; and 
that, having taken into view all circumstances, for his own 
part he fully believed that America would not be so easily con- 
quered by England as those gentlemen seemed to expect.' 
Being once, in particular, asked, ' whether he did not seriously 
believe that a well appointed British army of five thousand 
veterans could march through the whole continent of America?' 
he replied briskly, ' no doubt, if they behaved civilly, and paid 
well for everything they wanted ' ; — ' but,' — after a moment's 
pause [he] added — ' if they should attempt it in a hostile man- 
ner (though the American men were out of the question) the 
women, with their ladles and broomsticks, would knock them 
all on the head before they had got half way through.' " 

When Putnam went back to Connecticut, he carried 
with him a letter in which the Boston Committee of 
Correspondence gratefully acknowledged the gift which 
the Brooklyn Parish had sent. 

After his return from Boston, Putnam was more than 
ever — to use Bancroft's characterisation of him — " the 
oracle of all patriotic circles in his neighbourhood." 



i8o 



Israel Putnam 



[1773-74] 



He was alert for tidings from the Massachusetts 
patriots which might make it necessary to go to their 
assistance with arms ; and he had been at home only 
a few days when the whole country was thrown into 
the greatest excitement. 





CHAPTER XV 
war's ai^arms 

I774-I775 

N uprising in which Putnam had an 
influential part occurred just three 
months after the Boston Port Bill went 
into effect. The immediate origin of 
this alarm, which caused the patriots in 
large numbers throughout New Eng- 
land to rush to arms and start for Boston to defend their 
liberties, was the hostile act of General Gage in seizing 
some powder and cannon. The Massachusetts towns 
had been accustomed to .store their powder, together 
with that of the province, in the magazine on Quarry 
Hill, in Charlestown, but, as a precaution against the 
war which was threatening the towns, took away their 
supply in August, 1774. When General Gage learned 
that the ammunition of the province remained there, he 
decided to secure it by removing it to Castle William in 
Boston Harbour. Two hundred and sixty men, under 
the command of L,ieutenant- Colonel Maddison, were 
accordingly sent to accomplish this object. They em- 
barked in thirteen boats at Long Wharf, Boston, about 
dawn on the ist day of September, and passed up Mystic 
River ao far as Temple's Farm (The Ten Hills). There 



1 82 Israel Putnam [1774- 

the soldiers landed within a mile of the powder-house 
and, having crossed over Winter Hill, conveyed all the 
powder, consisting of two hundred and fifty half-bar- 
rels, from the magazine to their boats, while the 
detachment which was sent to Cambridge seized two 
field-pieces there. The British then transported what 
they had captured to Castle William. 

The news of this inroad spread rapidly. A large 
crowd gathered on Cambridge Common. Many of the 
patriots wished to use violent measures and recover 
the powder and cannon, but were urged by Joseph 
Warren and other influential leaders to disperse 
quietly. This they did, but forced Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Oliver, and other persons who had accepted 
appointment to office by the King, to resign. 

Meanwhile the report of the seizure by the British 
sped onward, becoming greatly exaggerated on the way, 
so that by the time it reached Connecticut the rumour 
was that the enemy's army and fleet had attacked 
Boston and killed several persons at the first shot. 
Putnam received the alarm at his home on Saturday 
morning, September 3rd, at eleven o'clock, and immedi- 
ately wrote to Captain Aaron Cleveland of Canterbury, 
urging him to rally all the forces possible and march at 
once to the scene of bloodshed. Captain Cleveland 
countersigned the letter and sent it to Norwich, where 
it arrived at four o'clock on the afternoon of the same 
day, and was printed in the form of handbills and dis- 
tributed throughout the town and vicinity. From 
Norwich Putnam's letter was forwarded southward by 
Captain John Durkee, and was endorsed by influential 
patriots at New London, New Haven, and New York. 
Everywhere it created great excitement. 

"Two days ago," wrote a gentleman, on September 7th, from 



1775] War's Alarms 183 

New York to a frieud iu Annapolis, " we were alarmed here by 
the arrival of an Express from a Colonel Putnam, of Connecti- 
cut, to the Committee of this City, with intelligence that a cer- 
tain person was just come to his house from Boston to acquaint 
him that an affray had happened between the People and the 
Troops, in which six of the former were killed ; and that when 
said person left Boston, the Artillery from the Common, and 
Men-of-War, had been firing upon the Town all the night of 
the 1st of September. Colonel Putnam, upon this advice, 
alarmed the whole country, requiring them to arm them- 
selves and take the road to Boston, which they actually did, 
insomuch that the Post says the roads were covered with 
people.* 

The response to Putnam's summons to arms was 
prompt and universal throughout Connecticut. In a 
letter to Silas Deane, who was one of the Connecticut 
delegates to the first Continental Congress, which had 
just assembled at Philadelphia, Titus Hosmer ot 
Wethersfield, Connecticut, describes his own experi- 
ence in being called out of bed in the early morning 
by the sheriff, who showed him the message. By this 
time," says Hosmer, " the people gathered from all 
quarters like a snowball." Then alluding to the 
scrawling chirography of Putnam's letter, he adds, 
' ' The contents — was something — but, to puzzle any- 
one, sufficient. The purport was, Boston was in 
action." f 

In passing through other parts of Connecticut on 
Sunday, September 4th, the letter from Putnam arrived 
in some of the towns while the people were assembled 
for worship in the meeting-houses and it was read 
publicly from the pulpits, the ministers in several 

* Force, American Archives, Fourth Series, vol. i., p. 942. 
f Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, vol. ii., p. 
153- 



1 84 Israel Putnam [1774- 

instances joining members of the congregation in set- 
ting off immediately for the place of the supposed en- 
gagement. Putnam himself had started for Boston, 
but before leaving home he had made a facetious thrust 
at his loyalist neighbour by sending him the follow- 
ing note : 

" Saturday, 12 p.m. 
" Dear Sir. — I have this minute had an express from Boston 
that the fight between Boston and Regulars [began] last night 
at sunset, and the cannon began to and continued playing all 
night, and they beg for help, — and don't you think it is time 
to go? 

" I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, 

" ISRAEi, Putnam." 
"To CoL. Mai,bone." 

Malbone's reply was terse and speedy, " Go to the 
Devil! " 

When Putnam was about thirty miles from Pomfret, 
on his hurried ride towards Boston, he learned that the 
alarm was false. He accordingly turned back and 
sent word to the Connecticut forces that they need 
proceed no farther. 

It is impossible to ascertain how many men in all 
started for Boston. Reports differ, and, as was natural 
in the excitement of the time, some persons greatly 
overestimated the number. John Andrews of Boston, 
writing on September 6, 1774, to William Barrell, a 
merchant of Philadelphia, placed the number as high 
as an hundred thousand men, who, he says, 

"were equipt with arms and moving towards us from different 
parts of the country. The celebrated Colonel Putnam was at 
the head of fifteen thousand and it's said that five and twenty 
thousand more were in a body a day's march behind him. . , . 
It 's greatly to their credit that in all the different parties that 
were collected, and in all their various movements, there was 



1775] War's Alarms 185 

as mucli good order and decorum observ'd as wlien attending 
church on Sunda}'.* 

The patriotism which had prompted the Connecticut 
men to respond so quickly to the alarm, until they were 
assured by the expresses from Boston that the help of 
the militia was not needed at present, was also shown 
at once in the letters of the Committees of Correspond- 
ence offering support to Massachusetts in the impend- 
ing revolution. Putnam and his committee wrote, on 
September 4th, to Boston : 

"Words cannot express the gladness discovered by every one 
at the appearance of a door being opened to avenge the many 
abuses and insults which those foes to liberty have offered to 
our brethren in your town and province. But for counter in- 
telligence, we should have had forty thousand men well 
equipped and ready to march this morning. Send a written 
express to the foreman of this committee when you have oc- 
casion for our martial assistance ; we shall attend your sum- 
mons, and shall glory in having a share in the honour of ridding 
our country of the yoke of tyranny, which our forefathers have 
not borne, neither will we ; and we much desire you to keep 
a strict guard over the remainder of your powder, for that 
must be the great means, under God, of the salvation of our 
country." 

The energy of Putnam in calling out the militia did 
not meet with generous treatment by all the patriots 
when the alarm proved to be false. Some of them 
feared that the premature excitement occasioned by 
" Putnam's blundering story," as Silas Deane called 
it, might strengthen a sentiment against the attempts 
to obtain reconciliation with the mother country, and 
therefore a conflict would be precipitated. The up- 
rising had the effect, at least, of warning General Gage, 

* Proceedings of the ISIassachusetts Historical Society, vol. 

viii., p. 355. 



1 86 Israel Putnam [1774- 

so that he began to fortify Boston Neck. One of the 
defenders of this British commander said, in an open 
letter to Peyton Randolph, President of the Continental 
Congress : 

"A Colonel Putnam of Connecticut, with a zeal not accord- 
ing to knowledge, alarmed that and all the Southern Provinces, 
and the whole country was in motion. Under all these hostile 
appearances, what was it the duty of a good General to do? 
Was it not to secure his troops in the best manner he could 
against the threatened invasion ? This his Excellency General 
Gage did by repairing the old Fortifications at the entrance 
into the Town, and by throwing up an entrenchment still 
further from the Town, on each side of the common road." * 

Nearly two weeks after the false alarm there ap- 
peared in the columns of the New York Gazette and 
Weekly Mercury a sarcastic article censuring Putnam 
for his part in the affair. In reply he wrote a strong 
open letter, which was originally published, October 7, 
1774, in the Connecticut Gazette at New London. It 
vindicates his conduct, and, not being marred by mis- 
spelled words — those errors of Putnam were corrected 
in the old newspaper — it is, with its virile style and 
classic allusions, a good interpreter of his intelligence 
and force. 

This is the letter in the form in which it has been 
preserved to us : 

AN OPEN LETTER OF ISRAEL PUTNAM EXPLAINING 

AND DEFENDING HIS COURSE AT THE TIME OF 

THE FALSE ALARM IN SEPTEMBER, 1774. 

" POMKRET, October 3, 1774. 
"In Mr. Gaine's New York Gazette, of the 12th of Septem- 
ber, I am called upon to set the affair of my writing a letter to 
Captain Cleveland in a true light, which was wrote in conse- 
quence of intelligence brought me by Captain Kej-s, on the 3rd 

* Force, American Archives, Fourth Series, vol. i., p. 943. 



1775] War's Alarms 187 

of September last. Being then at home about my lawful busi- 
ness, said Ke3's came to my house about eleven o'clock a.m., 
and informed me that an Express came from Boston to Oxford, 
who set out from thence on the preceding evening, and 
brought the alarming tidings contained in my letter herein 
inserted. The true state of the case, as I have since learned, 
is as follows : 

" Wilcot, Esquire, of Oxford, hearing the news, posted his 
son off towards Boston to learn the certainty of the report ; 
and when he came to Grafton, about thirty-five miles from 
Boston, he heard a further confirmation of it, and returned im- 
mediately back to Oxford, when the said Wilcot, his father, 
sent him to Dudley, to Carter's Tavern, where one Mr. Clarke, 
of that town, a trader, happened to be, and he came to his 
father, Captain Clarke, of Woodstock, who came to said Keys, 
and on his coming to me with the strongest assurances of the 
truth and reality of said report, I wrote the following letter to 
Captain Aaron Cleveland of Canterbury : 

*' ' Mr. Keys this moment brought us the news that the Men- 
of-War and Troops began to fire upon the people last night at 
sunset, at Boston, when a post was immediately sent off to in- 
form the country. He informed that the Artillery played all 
night, that the people were universally rallying as far as here, 
and desire all the assistance possible. 

" 'The first commencement of hostilities was occasioned by 
the country's being robbed of their powder, from Boston as far 
as Framingham ; and when found out, the persons who went 
to take the perpetrator of the horrid deed (who had fled to the 
Camp) were immediately fired upon, six of our number were 
killed the first shot, and a number wounded ; and beg you will 
rally all the forces you can, and be upon the march immediately 
for the relief of Boston, and the people that way. 

" ' ISRAKi. Putnam.' " 

"The title of 'Lieutenant Colonel of the Connecticut 
Forces,' I did not assume in my said letter, it being inserted 
in the New York Paper by the Printer's own capricious whim, 
or to gratify some of his votaries. 

" The above letter is as nearly conformable to the original as 
I can recollect, not having a copy of it ; by comparing which 



i88 Israel Putnam [1774- 

with that inserted in said Gaine's Paper, the reader will per- 
ceive they somewhat differ. Whether the difference arises 
from a wrong copy sent forward by Captain Cleveland, or from 
some other cause, I am not able to determine. I hope the 
reader will make a proper allowance for incorrectness, when he 
considers it was wrote in great haste, and the author aimed at 
nothing but plain matters of fact, as they were delivered to 
him, not expecting said letter would have been transported 
through the Continent, subject to the critical inspection of the 
learned in every Town. 

"The writer in Mr. Gaine's Paper of September lo, who 
styles himself a New-York Freeholder, introduces his piece 
with a rhetorical picture of the horrours of a civil war ; which, 
though I agree with him that it brings a train of evils along 
with it, yet when drove to a state of desperation by the oppress- 
ive hand of tyranny and the lawless violence of arbitrary 
power, what people on earth would not be justified, in the eye 
of right reason and common sense, for the resistance even to 
the shedding of blood, if the preservation of their liberties 
demanded it. After having said sufficient to alarm the fears of 
all those who have a pusillanimity of soul, or rather an infam- 
ous desire of screening their Jacobitish principles under the 
mask of dread of consequences, he ushers in this paragraph with 
a sneer: 'Colonel Putnam's famous letter, forwarded by 
special messengers to New York and Philadelphia, and the 
consequences it produced are very recent and fresh in our 
memories.' Then, after reciting some part of my letter, he 
proceeds, 'The evident confusion of ideas in this letter betrays 
the state of the poor Colonel's mind whilst writing it, and 
shews he did not possess that calm fortitude which is necessary- 
to insure success in military enterprises.' Paying all due 
deference to this author's learning, and his undoubted ac- 
quaintance with the rules of grammar and criticism, I would 
beg leave to ask him whether he does not betray a total want 
of the blessings of humanity, if he supposes, in the midst of 
confusion, when the passions are agitated with a real belief of 
thousands of their fellow-countrymen being slain, and the in- 
habitants of a whole City just upon the eve of being made a 
sacrifice by the rapine and fury of a merciless Soldiery, and 



1775] War's Alarms 189 

their City laid in ashes by the fire of the Ships of War, he or 
any one else could set down under the possession of a calmness 
of soul becoming a Roman Senator, and attend to all the rules 
of composition in writing a letter to make a representation of 
plain matters of fact, under the hieroglyphical similitude of 
tropes and figures ? 

"He goes on to cast a censure upon the New England Colon- 
ies, saying the above mentioned report ' has eventually made 
evident, past all doubt, that many in the New England Colon- 
ies are disposed and ripe for the most violent measures.' This 
is as gross a falsehood as the Boston alarm, and discovers the 
evident disposition of the author to cast an odium upon the 
patriotick sons of New England, whose arms are emblazoned 
with humanity ; who wish to gain a redress of their grievances 
by the most pacifick and gentle means ; but rather than submit 
to slavery, are determined to drench their swords in blood, 
and die generously, or live free ! — Under whose banners, possi- 
bly, this Jesuitical pretender to friendship for the liberties of 
America and the British Constitution, may be glad to take 
sanctuary', when the virtuous inhabitants of the Colony into 
which he fled from the Scotch rebellion, may find him out, 
and pass that act of outlawry against him, which every Jaco- 
bitish hypocrite deserves. 

" Now, I submit it to the determination of every candid un- 
prejudiced reader, whether my conduct in writing the above 
mentioned letter, merits the imputation of imprudence, as- 
serted by said writer ; or whether they would have had me 
tamely sit down and been a spectator of the inhuman sacrifice 
of my friends and fellow-countrymen ; or, in other words, 
Nero like, have sat down and fiddled, while I really supposed 
Boston was in flames ; or exerted myself for their relief? And 
pray, in what easier way could I have proceeded, than in writ- 
ing to one of the Militia Captains, (who I desired to forward 
the intelligence to the adjacent Towns,) when I really believed 
the story to be true? Which, having done, I immediately mounted 
my horse and made the best of my way towards Boston, having 
only four gentlemen to accompany me. Having proceeded as 
far as Douglass, which is about thirty miles from my own 
house, I met Captain Hill, of that Town, with his Company, 



190 Israel Putnam [1774- 

wbo had been down within about thirty miles of Boston, and 
had just returned. He informed me that the alarm was false, 
and that the forces of Worcester and Sutton were upon their 
return. I then turned my course homewards without loss of 
time, aud reached my house on Sunday morning about sun- 
rising, taking care to acquaint the people on the road that they 
need not proceed any further. Immediately on my return, I 
sent an express to Captain Cleveland, letting him know what 
intelligence I bad heard, and desiring him to give the like in- 
formation to the adjoining Towns to the Southward. 

"I believe the alarm was first occasioned by Mr. Benjamin 
Hallowell, who, going into Boston in a great fright, informed 
the Army that he had killed one man and wounded another, 
while they were pursuing him from Cambridge, and that the 
country were all in arms marching into Boston ; which threw 
the military into great consternation ; and they were quickly 
paraded and put into the most convenient posture of defence, 
in which position they remained till next day. In the midst 
of tbis hurry and confusion, I believe a post was dispatched 
into the country, but by whom, or to answer what purpose, I 
cannot tell ; but what took place in consequence of it is evid- 
ent. General Gage's apprehension of danger was so great, 
that he speedily began to fortify the entrance to the Town, to 
prevent a surprise from the enemy without. 

" From what has been said, I believe it will sufficiently ap- 
pear that I was not the inventor of this alarm ; and I am told 
from good authority, that the people were in motion in the 
Northward part of Massachusetts Government, even to the 
distance of one hundred miles from Boston, who were alarmed 
by an Express sent thither by the same Wilcot, above men- 
tioned, before the news reached me, which I think is enough 
to silence the ill-natured aspersions of every cavilling Tory 
against my conduct, and make them, dog-like, draw in their 
tails and lop their ears, aud skulk into some obscure hole or 
kennel aud hide themselves from the contempt of the world. 
Having evidently discovered their attempt to stir up a spirit 
of animosity aud disunion among the good people of the Colon- 
ies, I pray God it may prove abortive. 

"ISRAEi, Putnam." 



1775] War s Alarms 191 

Although the September alarm was found to be false, 
the efficiency of Putnam in arousing the people at the 
time of the supposed emergency made many of the 
patriots, particularly those living in the eastern part 
of Connecticut, look to him as their leader against the 
British encroachments. They called him their " Gen- 
eral " before that title was conferred upon him officially ; 
and " notices to this effect," says his son Daniel, 
" flowed in upon him from everj^ quarter after the alarm 
had subsided." * 

In October of this year (1774) the Connecticut As- 
sembly, in session at New Haven, ordered the towns of 
the colony to provide at the earliest possible date 
" double the quantity of powder, ball and flints that 
they were heretofore by law obliged to provide." A 
large number of militia officers were appointed, Put- 
nam himself being made Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
Eleventh Regiment, which was composed of the com- 
panies from Woodstock, Pomfret, and Killingly.f 
Throughout Connecticut the train-bands were drilled 
with greater energy than ever and every precaution 
taken for defence in the "alarming crisis." Outside 
Putnam's own colony, too, the belligerent feeling was 
shown l)y vigorous military practice. The warlike 
preparations of the colonists were well-timed, for the 
King's troops made an aggressive movement in April. 
On the evening of the i8th of that month, a detachment 
cf eight hundred men, under orders from General 
Gage, started from Boston, intending not only to capture 



* Letter of Daniel Putnam, written in 1825 to the Bunker 
Hill Monument Association, and printed in i860 in the Collec- 
tions of the Connecticut Historical Society, vol. i. 

f Record of Connecticut Jlfcn during the War of the Revolu- 
tion, Adjutaut-Geueral's Office, Hartford. 



192 Israel Putnam [1774- 

the military stores collected at Concord, but also 
to stop on the way at Lexington and arrest the " arch- 
rebels," Samuel Adams and John Hancock. So ex- 
peditiously, however, did the patriotic messenger, Paul 
Revere, forewarn the people that the British soldiers 
were defeated in their purpose and hotly pursued back 
to Boston by the armed yeomanry/'' In this series of 
skirmishes on April 19th, the retreating troops left 
nearly three hundred of their number killed or wounded 
along the road, while the Americans lost less than one- 
third that number. The news of the affair spread with 
remarkable swiftness. It was indeed " the vSpark " — to 
use the historian Gordon's words — which "set the 
whole continent in a flame." 

On Thursday morning, April 20th, Putnam and his 
son Daniel, who was then fifteen years of age, had gone 
into the field near the tavern at Brooklyn Green to 
plow. They were busily at work when about eight 
o'clock a messenger rode into the village in hot haste, 



* Although Putnam was not present at the battle of Lexing- 
ton, the pistols which he carried in the American Revolution 
were a trophy of that eventful day. They were none other 
than those of Major Pitcairn who had discharged one of them 
when he gave his soldiers the order to fire on the minutemen 
who were drawn up on L,exington Green. Later in the day, 
when the British were retreating, Pitcairn's horse was shot 
under him, and in the haste of dismounting in order to escape 
his pursuers, the British officer left his weapons behind him. 
They were captured by the Americans and, a few weeks later, 
were offered as a gift to Washington, but he declined them. 
They were then presented to Putnam and were his constant 
companions during the rest of his military career. These silver- 
mounted and handsomely engraved pistols are now kept in the 
Cary Library at Lexington, having been given to the town by 
the widow of John P. Putnam, of Cambridge, N. Y. 



1775] War's Alarms 193 

with a dispatch for Daniel Tyler, Jr.* It was from the 
town clerk of Worcester, Massachusetts, who had for- 
warded a cop3' of a letter which he had received from the 
Committee of Safety at Watertown, dated " Wednes- 
day morning. Near lo o'clock, April 19, 1775," 
announcing that the British had fired on the militia at 
Lexington, had " killed six men and wounded four 
others," and were on their march into the country. 
Young Tyler hurried with the news to his father-in- 
law in the field. In instant response to the alarm, 
Putnam — so wrote his sou Daniel in after 3'ears — 
" loitered not but left me, the driver of his team, to un- 
yoke it in the furrow, and not many days after to follow 
him to camp." Without changing his working-clothes, 
the energetic patriot mounted a horse at the stable that 
he might himself spread the alarming tidings and also 
consult with the militia officers and the committees of 
the neighbouring towns of Windham County. He 
hastened to the home of Governor Jonathan Trum- 
bull at lyebanon, and received orders from him to go 
to Boston. 

Meantime, about three o'clock in the afternoon, 
another dispatch reached Putnam's village, giving an 
account of the fight at Concord. Colonel Ebenezer Wil- 
liams of Pomfret, a member of the Connecticut Com- 
mittee of Safety, forwarded the news by express to 
Canterbury and elsewhere, urging " every man who is 
fit and willing " to come out for action, for " there 
were about forty of our men killed " by the British. 

When Putnam returned home, two hours or so after 
the second dispatch was received, he found hundreds 
of men gathered on Brooklyn Green ready to obey his 

* Daniel Tyler, Jr., was Putnam's son-in-law, having married 
his daughter Mehitable in 1771. 
13 



194 Israel Putnam [1774- 

orders. He told them that, according to the arrange- 
ments which he had been making on his consultatory 
tour, military officers would soon arrive to direct their 
movements. It was now nearly sunset, but without 
stopping to rest or to change the checked farmer's frock 
which he had been wearing since he left his plough in 
the morning, Putnam, indefatigable patriot that he 
was, started on a night ride for Cambridge. That he 
reached there the next day, and after consultation with 
the Committee of Safety galloped on to Concord is 
evident from the following letter which he wrote to 
Colonel Williams of Pomfret. He had ridden not less 
than a hundred miles in eighteen hours. 

" Concord, April 21. 

" To Colonel E. Williams. Sir — I have waited on the Com- 
mittee of the Provincial Congress, and it is their Determination 
to have a standing Army of 22,000 men from the New-England 
Colonies, of which it is supposed the Colony of Connecticut 
must raise 6000, and begs they would be at Cambridge as 
speedily as possible, with Conveniences ; together with Provi- 
sions, and a Sufficiency of Ammunition for their own Use. 

"The Battle here is much as has been represented at Pomfret, 
except that there is more killed and a Number more taken 
Prisoners. 

"The Accounts at present are so confused that it is impossible 
to ascertain the number exact, but shall inform you of the 
Proceedings, from Time to Time, as we have new Occurrences ; 
mean Time, I am, 

" Sir, your humble servant, 

" Israel Putnam. 

"N. B. The troops of Horse are not expected to come until 

further notice." 

" A true copy, E. Williams." * 

* This is the form in which Putnam's letter appears as 
printed in an extra from the office of the Packet, published at 
Norwich, Connecticut, on Sunday, April 23, 1775. The broad- 



1775] War's Alarms 195 

Putnam returned from Concord to Cambridge with- 
out delay, for we find him, on April 22nd, present at a 
Council of War* held at the latter place. He sent 
dispatches, also, from Cambridge on that date, to the 
Connecticut Committees of Correspondence, urging 
them to forward immediately supplies of troops and 
provisions. 

Just a week after the battle of Lexington, General 
Artemas Ward, the chief commander of the Massachu- 
setts forces, was at Roxbury, while Putnam took general 
command of the minutemen and individual volunteers, 
who arrived in large numbers at Cambridge. In the 
excitement and confusion caused by the inpouring of 
the troops, both these officers had, according to Colonel 
Jedediah Huntington of Norwich, Conn., who reached 
the vicinity of Boston on April 26th, " too much busi- 
ness upon their hands." 

Putnam was soon summoned back to Connecticut, 
for the General Assembly in special session at Hartford 
had raised him to the rank of Brigadier-General, and 
wished to consult with him in regard to the movements 
of the troops over whom he had been appointed. 



side of this special edition of the old newspaper has this im- 
print : " Printed by Robertsons and Trumbull, who will in a 
few Days have for Sale, The Crisis, number One and Two — 
A Bloody Court! a Bloody Ministry ! and a Bloody Parlia- 
ment !''' 

* Orderly Book of Colonel William Henshaw. 



'x=^J©^i^^Bi54>'t^^ 



CHAPTER XVI 

A BOLD LEADER 




1775 

^iS Second Brigadier-General, Putnam 
ranked third among the officers ap- 
pointed, April 26, 1775, by the General 
Assembly of Connecticut, David Woos- 
ter of New Haven having been chosen 
Major-General, and Joseph Spencer of 
Bast Haddam, First Brigadier-General of the force from 
that colony. Each of these three officers was also 
made colonel of a regiment and captain of a company. 
The Assembly had voted to raise six thousand troops 
to be formed into six regiments of ten companies each, 
a company being composed of one hundred men. The 
3rd Regiment, which Putnam commanded as colonel, 
— he was also captain of the ist Company in the same 
regiment, — was recruited chiefly in Windham County, 
and began marching in May by companies to the camps 
forming around Boston. Putnam's eldest son, Israel, 
was now to share in military service, for he was captain 
of the loth Company in this regiment, and a few 
weeks later was appointed aide-de-camp to his father. 

Realising the importance of being again near the 
seat of hostilities, Putnam set out for Boston within a 

196 



1775] A Bold Leader 197 

week after his return to Connecticut. In passing 
through Massachusetts this second time, he stopped at 
Sutton to rest and dine at the home of his relative, 
Deacon Tarrant Putnam.* The old flagstone is still 
pointed out " where the loving friends and cousins em- 
braced each other and wept" just before the hero 
mounted his horse to continue his journey. 

On his arrival at Cambridge, Putnam found that the 
Borland house had been selected as his headquarters. 
This large square wooden house stood directly opposite 
the present University building, Gore Hall. John 
Borland, a merchant, had occupied the house up to the 
time of the outbreak of the war, but since then, being a 
loyalist, he had abandoned it and taken refuge in 
Boston. 

The reason why Putnam and his regiment were kept 
at Cambridge while the rest of the force from his 
colony took post under Spencer at Roxbury, has been 
interestingly stated by Daniel Putnam, who joined his 
father in May, and had the opportunity for a personal 
knowledge of the facts which we find recorded in his 
valuable letter of 1825 to the Bunker Hill Monument 
Association : 

"The fact may not now be generally known, but it is not 
the less a truth that the presence of Genl. Putnam at Cam- 
bridge was extremely desirable to Genl. Ward, and it was for 
that reason that he was separated from the other Connecticut 
troops and placed near Head Quarters. . . . 

"Until the appointment of Washington, Genl. Ward's was a 
delicate and highly responsible station, and it was natural he 
should not only wish for Geul. Putnam's experience and advice 
to assist him in difficulties, but there should be one who stood 



* History of Sutton, Mass., by W'. A. Benedict and H. A. 
Tracy. 



198 Israel Putnam [1775 

high in the confidence of the people, on whom he might lean 
for support, and with whom he might divide the responsibility. 
Their views of public affairs, and the proper measures to be 
pursued, were not exactly the same, but the utmost harmony 
subsisted between them." 



Putnam, the aggressive patriot, was from the first a 
great favourite in the army, as his son Daniel remarks 
with pride: 

" His popularity was not confined to Connecticut but per- 
vaded the whole of the Massachussetts forces then before Bos- 
ton ; and there was not a soldier in their ranks but seemed 
ready to follow him, to fight for him, and if need be to die by 
his side. Even Warren, the accomplished gentleman, the dar- 
ing patriot, and the future hope of the army, delighted, when 
the complicated duties of his station permitted, to spend an 
hour at Putnam's quarters. He would listen attentively to his 
tales of a former war, and make earnest and particular enquiries 
of him as to the relative power and influence of British and 
Provincial troops in that war. Putnam maintained that when 
the Provincial regiments were well officered, they were not 
inferior to the British. ' Our men,' he said, ' would always 
follow wherever their officers led, — I know this to have been 
the case with mine, and have also seen it in other instances.' " 

There were grave apprehensions of a sally from 
Boston by the King's troops, but the intrepid Putnam 
assured his fellow-patriots that the advantage would all 
be on the American side, however large a force the 
enemy might send out. 

"Warren asked him," continues Daniel Putnam, "if 10,000 
British troops should march out of Boston, what number in 
his opinion would be competent to meet them ? Putnam 
answered, 'L,et me pick' my officers, and I would not fear to 
meet them with half the number ; — not in a pitched battle to 



1775] A Bold Leader 199 

stop them at once, for no troops are better than the British, 
but I would fight on the retreat, and every stone-wall we passed 
should be lined with their dead ; — our men are lighter of foot, 
they understand our grounds and how to take advantage of 
them ; and besides, we should only fall back on our reserve, 
while every step they advanced, the country would close on 
their flanks and rear.' " 



The bold officer was not satisfied with merely utter- 
ing stout-hearted words. He was eager that fortifica- 
tions should be begun at once in order that the 
Americans might be fully prepared to repel an attack 
and prevent the enera}^ from even attempting an ad- 
vance into the country. Detachments of Massachusetts 
and Connecticut troops were accordingly set to work in 
building defences in Cambridge and in throwing up a 
breastwork on the Cambridge road, near the base of 
Prospect Hill. Putnam is described as being " con- 
stantly on horseback or on foot, working with his men 
or encouraging them." On his round of inspection, he 
found one day that some of the Massachusetts men had 
been evidently neglecting their work. Caleb Haskell, 
a Revolutionary soldier, used afterwards to tell how 
Putnam demanded of them, " To what regiment do 
you belong ? " " To Colonel Doolittle's," the}^ replied. 
" Doolittle ? Do nothing at all! " the General bluntly 
exclaimed. 

The importance of defence against the British was 
not Putnam's only reason for having the fortifications 
built. 



"His experience had taught him," so Daniel recounts what 
he had often beard his father say, " that raw and undisciplined 
troops rniist be employed in some way or other, or they would 
soon become vicious and unmanageable. His maxim was, 



200 Israel Putnam [1775 

' It is better to dig a ditch every morning and fill it up at 
evening than to have the men idle.' " 

Prospect Hill and the Charlestown Heights were 
points which Putnam was strongly in favour of fortify- 
ing, but at this early period many of the officers as 
well as members of the Committee of Safety and the 
Provincial Congress appear to have been unwilling to 
consent to such aggressive movements. The Connect- 
icut general found, however, a warm sympathiser in 
his plans in the gallant Colonel William Prescott of 
Massachusetts. One afternoon, when Putnam had just 
marked out at Cambridge a new line on which his men 
had commenced work, this officer, accompanied by 
Colonel Gardiner, came up. 

" I wish, General," said Prescott, " j^our men were 
digging nearer Boston." " I wish so, too," replied 
Putnam, " and I hope we shall all be of one mind 
before long." 

The British Commander Gage, having learned that 
his personal friend of the French and Indian War was 
a leader in the army besieging Boston, 

"found the means," according to Humphreys, "to convey a 
proposal privately to General Putnam that if he would relin- 
quish the rebel party, he might rely upon being made a Major- 
General on the British establishment, and receiving a great 
pecuniary compensation for his services. General Putnam 
spurned at the offer ; which, however, he thought prudent at 
that time to conceal from public notice." 

Similar overtures were made by Gage to other veter- 
ans of the earlier war, among them Putnam's old com- 
rade, Colonel John Stark, who was now serving in the 
patriotic army, in command of a New Hampshire regi- 



1775] A Bold Leader 201 

ment. But such efforts of the British General to break 
the rebellion were in vain.* Indeed, the American 
oflScers took steps at once to impress Gage with the 
strength of their force and also to inspire their men 
with confidence. Putnam, in the afternoon of May 
13th, led in person all the troops at Cambridge, except 
those on guard, into Charlestown within reach of the 
British cannon, both from the men-of-war and Boston, 
which would have made great havoc among the Ameri- 
cans if the enemy had opened fire. The line of march 
on this bold enterprise extended a mile and a half. 
The men, who numbered twenty-two hundred in all, 
marched over Bunker Hill and also over Breed's Hill. 
They came out by Captain Henly's still-house, and 
having entered the main street at the fish-market, near 
the old ferry where the Charles River Bridge was after- 
wards built, they returned to Cambridge. 

During the latter part of May several skirmishes 
took place, caused by the endeavour of both parties to 
secure the hay and stock on the islands in the harbour. 
At different times the British fired upon the Americans 
from the shipping. An engagement, in which Putnam 



* An English newspaper of the time mentioned in its columns 
that Putnam, in compliance with a request of General Gage, 
went into Boston for a personal interview with him. This 
statement was, however, soon afterwards contradicted, being 
" void of foundation." Gage's premature confidence that he 
would be able to " purchase the Rebel Generals " misled Capt. 
John Montresor, the same who had been with Putnam under 
Bradstreet in 1764, and who was now serving as engineer in 
the British army. Montresor notes without warrant in his 
journal that " even Israel Putnam, of Connecticut, might have 
been bought to my certain knowledge for one dollar per day, 
or 8 shillings New York currency." 



202 Israel Putnam [1775 

took active part, occurred May 27th in the vicinity of 
Chelsea. A graphic description of it was published 
soon afterwards in Almon' s Remembrancer for 1775 : 

"A CIRCUMSTANTIAL ACCOUNT OF A SKIRMISH BE- 
TWEEN THE PROVINCIALS AND THE REGULARS 
AT CHELSEA, HOGG ISLAND, &c. 

" On Saturday last, the 27th of May, a part of the American 
army at Cambridge, to the number of between two and three 
hundred men, had orders [from the Committee of Safety] to 
drive off the live stock from Hogg and Noddle's Islands which 
places lie near Chelsea and Winnesimit, on the north-east side 
of Boston harbour. From Chelsea to Hogg Island [now Breed's 
Island] at low water, it is but about knee deep, and from that 
to Noddle's Island [now East Boston] about the same. . . . 

" About eleven o'clock, a.m., between twenty and thirty men 
belonging to the proprietors of the cattle, were sent from Chel- 
sea to Hogg Island, to drive oflF the stock which was there, 
but were interrupted by a schooner and a sloop (dispatched 
from the fleet in Boston harbour) and about 40 marines, who 
had been stationed there to protect the stock. However, they 
drove off two fine English stallions, two colts and three cows, 
killed fifteen cows, burnt a large barn full of salt hay, and an 
old farm-house. By this time they were fired on by the schooner 
and sloop, and a large number of marines in boats, sent from 
the several ships of war ; upon which they retreated to a ditch 
on the marsh, and kept themselves undiscovered till they had 
an opportunity to fire on the marines, when they shot two 
dead, and wounded two more, one of whom died soon after. 
They then retreated to Hogg Island, where they were joined 
by the remainder of their party from Chelsea, and drove off all 
the stock thereon, viz. between three and four hundred sheep 
and lambs, some cows, horses, &c. 

"During the driving off" the cattle, there were continual fir- 
ings between the provincials, and the schooner, sloop, boats 
and marines on the other island. 

"Having cleared Hogg Island, the provincials drew up on 
Chelsea Neck, and sent for a reinforcement of 300 men [Put- 
nam commanded this party, in which Dr. Warren served as a 



1775] A Bold Leader 203 

volunteer] and two pieces of cannon (four pounders) which 
arrived about nine o'clock in the evening, soon after which 
General Putnam went down and hailed the schooner and told 
the people that if they would submit they should have good 
quarters, which the schooner returned with two cannon shot ; 
this was immediately answered with two cannon from the 
provincials. 

" Upon this a very heavy fire ensued from both sides, which 
lasted until eleven at night, at which time the fire from the 
schooner ceased, the fire from the shore being so hot that her 
people were obliged to quit her and take to the boats, a great 
number of which had been sent from the shore to their assist- 
ance, and also a large reinforcement of marines sent to Noddle's 
Island with two twelve pounders. 

" The schooner being thus left drove ashore ; about the 
break of day the provincials carried some hay under her stern, 
set fire to it, and burnt her to ashes ; the sloop keeping up a 
small fire upon them. 

" At this time a heavy cannonading began at Noddle's Island 
Hill, with the twelve pounders upon the Provincials, and Gen- 
eral Putnam kept up a heavy fire on the sloop, disabled her 
much, and killed many of her men so that she was obliged to 
be towed off by the boats when the firing ceased, excepting a 
few shot which exchanged between the party at Chelsea, and 
the marines on Noddle's Island. 

"Thus ended this long action without the loss of one Pro- 
vincial and only four wounded, one of whom was wounded by 
the bursting of his own gun, and another only lost his little 
finger. 

"The loss of the enemy amounted to at least twenty killed 
and fifty wounded. [This estimate of the loss of the British 
seems to be exaggerated.] The Provincials took out of the 
schooner four double fortified four pounders, twelve swivels, 
the chief of her rigging and her sails, which the sailors and 
marines left behind, with many cfothes, some money, &c., they 
having quitted her in great haste." 

After his all-night experience in discomfiting the 
enemy, Putnam returned to Cambridge on Sunday 



204 Israel Putnam [1775 

morning. He was " wet and covered to the waist with 
marsh mud," says Daniel, " contracted by wading 
over the flats to burn the vessel." General Ward and 
Dr. Warren were already at the Borland house, 
anxiously awaiting the hero, in order to learn the de- 
tails of the affair. 

" without changing his dress," the son continues, " he re- 
lated to them the events of the day, and added, ' I wish we 
could have something of this kind to do every day ; it would 
teach our men how little danger there is from cannon balls, 
for tho' they have sent a great many at us, nobody has been 
hurt by them. I would that Gage and his troops were within 
our reach, for we would be like hornets about their ears ; as 
little birds follow and tease the eagle in his flight, we would 
every day contrive to make them uneasy.' Warren smiled and 
said nothing, but General Ward replied, ' As peace and recon- 
ciliation is what we seek for, would it not be better to act only 
on the defensive and give no unnecessary provocation ? ' Put- 
nam turned to Warren and said with emphasis, ' You know. 
Dr. Warren, we shall have no peace worth anything, till we 
gain it by the sword.' Instead of any direct reply, Warren 
observed, 'Vour wet clothes must be uncomfortable, General, 
and we will take our leave that you may change them,' — and 
taking Putnam's hand he continued, 'I admire your spirit and 
respect General Ward's prudence, both will be necessary for 
us, and one must temper the other.' " 

The success of the Noddle's Island encounter gave 
the " country troops," as Ezekiel Price stated in his 
diary, " great spirits." The skirmish was magnified 
into a battle and the fact that not an American had 
been killed was dwelt upon with unbounded exulta- 
tion. The jubilation of the Connecticut people, on 
hearing of the affair, found expression in a saying 
which was soon repeated throughout other colonies, 
that " the British were the Philistines and Putnam the 



1775] A Bold Leader 205 

American Samson, a chosen instrument to defeat the 
foe," The members of the Continental Congress, as- 
sembled at Philadelphia, received the news of the fight 
just as they were about to choose general officers, and 
the story of Putnam's bravery aroused such enthusiasm 
among them that, in the words of Roger Sherman, one 
of the representatives from Connecticut in the Congress, 

"his [Putnam's] successful enterprise at Noddle's Island gave 
him the preference in the opinion of the delegates in general 
so that his appointment [on June 19, 1775, as Fourth Major- 
General of the Continental Army] was unanimous." * 

The newspapers of the period contain frequent allu- 
sions to this " warrior" who had shown " the same 
dauntless courage with which he entered the den of 
the wolf." Here is an acrostic which was received 
with great acclaim : 

" Pure mass of courage, every soldier's wonder. 
Unto the Field he steps, enrobed with martial Thunder, 
Tares up the elements, and rends the Earth asunder. 
Nature designed him for the Field of Battle, 
Unused to Statesmen's wiles or courtier's prattle. 
Mars-like, his chief Delights, where thundering cannon 
rattle." 

In the celebrated satire, "M'Fingal," by John Trum- 
bull (born 1750, died 1831), which was published in 
1782, we find the following lines, describing Putnam's 
fearlessness. The poet introduces his reference to the 
bold General by ridiculing the British Commander 
Gage, who has been aptly called " the wind-bag war- 
rior whose professional enterprise found its most 
glorious vent in a crusade of thunderous proclama- 
tions": 



* Letter to General David Wooster. 



2o6 Israel Putnam [1775 

" Though Gage, whom proclamations call 
Your Gov'ruor and Vice Admiral, 
Whose power gubernatorial still 
Extends as far as Bunker's Hill, 
Whose admiralty reaches, clever, 
Near half a mile up Mystic river, 
Whose naval force yet keeps the seas, 
Can run away whene'er he 'd please. 
Nay, stern with rage, grim Putnam boiling, 
Plundered both Hogg and Noddle Island ; 
Scared troops of Tories into town. 
Burned all their hay and houses down, 
And menaced Gage unless he 'd flee. 
To drive him headlong to the sea ; 
As once, to faithless Jews a sign. 
The De'el, turned hog-reeve, did the swine." 

There is another humorous reference to Putnam in 
the same poem. The author is satirising General 
Gage for having violated his agreement with the select- 
men of Boston by refusing the inhabitants passes to 
leave the town : 

" So Gage of late agreed you know, 
To let the Boston people go. 

Yet when he saw, 'gainst troops that braved him, 
They were the only guards that saved him. 
Kept off that Satan of a Putnam 
From breaking in to maul and mutt'n him. 
He 'd too much wit such leagues to observe, 
And shut them in again to starve." 

Early in June arrangements were made with General 
Gage for an exchange of prisoners, some of whom had 
been taken in the Lexington and Concord battle. On 
the day of the transaction, Putnam represented the 
military and Dr. Warren the civil authority on the part 
of the Americans. The Essex Gazette published im- 



1775] 



A Bold Leader 207 



mediately afterwards an entertaining report of what 
took place on this occasion when Putnam had the 
pleasure of renewing an old friendship : 

" Cambridge, New England, June 6, 1775. 

" This being the day agreed on for the exchange of Prisoners, 
between twelve and one o'clock, Doctor Warren and Brigadier 
General Putnam in a phaeton, together with Major Dunbar 
and Lfieutenant Hamilton of the Sixt3'-Fourth on horseback ; 
Lieutenant Potter of the Marines in a chaise ; John Hilton of 
the Forty-Seventh, Alexander Campbell of the Fourth, John 
Tyne, Samuel Marcy, Thomas Parry, and Thomas Sharp of the 
Marines, wounded men, in two carts, — the whole escorted by 
the Weathersfield Company under the command of Captain 
Chester, — entered the Town of Charlestown, and marching 
slowly through it halted at the ferry where, upon a signal being 
given, Major Moncrief landed from the Lively, in order to re- 
ceive the prisoners and see his old friend, General Putnam. 
Their meeting was truly cordial and affectionate." 

Major John Brooks, afterwards Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, who witnessed this reunion, used to tell how 
these two friends, former companions-in-arms in the 
Havana campaign, " ran into each other's arms and 
kissed each other to the great diversion and astonish- 
ment of the country people of the army." 

But to continue the contemporaneous newspaper 
account of the exchange of prisoners : 

" The wounded privates were soon sent on board the Lively, 
but Major Moncrief and the other officers returned with General 
Putnam and Doctor Warren to the house of Doctor Foster, 
where an entertainment was provided for them. 

"About three o'clock a signal was made by the Lively that 
they were ready to deliver up our prisoners ; upon which. Gen- 
eral Putnam and Major Moncrief went to the ferry, where they 
received Messrs. John Peck, James Hewes, James Brewer, and 



2o8 Israel Putnam [1775 

Daniel Preston, of Boston ; Messrs. Samuel Frost and Seth 
Russell, of Cambridge ; Mr. Joseph Bell, of Danvers ; Mr. Elijah 
Seaver, of Roxbury, and Caesar Augustus, a negro servant to 
Mr. Tileston, of Dorchester, who were conducted to the house 
of Captain Foster, and there refreshed ; after which, the General 
and Major returned to their company, and spent an hour or 
two in a very agreeable manner. Between five and six o'clock, 
Major Moncrief, with the officers that had been delivered up 
to him, were conducted to the ferry, where the Lively''s barge 
received them. After which, General Putnam, with the prison- 
ers that had been delivered to him, &c., returned to Cambridge, 
escorted in the same manner as before." 

Putnam returned to his quarters in high spirits. 

"He said he had met again some of his old friends," writes 
Daniel, " but he appeared most gratified that Gage should have 
consented to an exchange of prisoners, ' He may call us 
Rebels now, if he will, but why then don't he hang his prison- 
ers instead of exchanging them ? By this act he has virtually 
placed us on an equality, and acknowledged our right of 
resistance.' " 

Daniel adds other reminiscences of his father who, 
eager as ever that fortifications should be built nearer 
Boston, had looked at the Charlestown Heights with 
great interest when passing by them for the exchange 
of prisoners. 

" Next day [June 7th] there was quite a levee of officers at 
Putnam's quarters to talk about the exchange. He related to 
them all the particulars, and turning to Col. Prescott, said, 
'Colonel, I saw ground yesterday that may suit your purpose. 
I suppose you have not forgotten your remark of the other 
day about dt'g-ging ; but more of this another time.' 

" Prescott called in the evening and they walked out to- 
gether ; for several succeeding days he was at Putnam's quarters, 
and they were in private conversation." 



1775] A Bold Leader 209 

About June loth Putnam determined to test the 
courage of his men by leading them again into Charles- 
town. All the troops at Cambridge were accordingly 
ordered " to parade on the Common, armed and ac- 
coutred." The lad Daniel took his place in the ranks 
as a volunteer. 

"I felt proud," says this true son of a brave sire, "to be 
numbered among what I then thought to be a mighty host 
destined for some great enterprise. We were marched to 
Charlestown, and I supposed it was intended to ' take Boston,' 
but after parading about on the high grounds awhile, we all 
returned in safety to our quarters at Cambridge." 

For several days after this second march into Charles- 
town, Putnam " appeared thoughtful and absent in his 
mind," as if planning some warlike expedition which 
he had resolved to undertake. His personal eccentrici- 
ties became very marked, as Daniel tells us : 

"In such seasons of abstraction he was in the habit of giving 
an indistinct kind of utterance to his thoughts, or what may be 
termed 'talking to one's self,' and broken sentences such as 
follow escaped his lips, — 'We must go there,' — 'Think they 
will come out,' — 'Yes, yes, they must,' — 'I'll go with my 
regiment anyhow,' — ' We must go in the night,' — ' We '11 carry 
our tools and have a trench before morning,' — ' He 's a good 
fellow,' — 'He wants to go,' — 'Says he will go, if they'll let 
him,' — 'Lay still, — lay still, I say, till they come close,' — 
'They won't hurt you,' — ' I know 'em of old, they fire without 
aim,' — these and such like burstings of his mind continued 
several days, not in a regular chain as I have set them down, 
but breaking forth occasionally, and often accompanied with 
some significant gesture, which left no doubt but he was con- 
templating some important military operation. To me it was 
almost certain for I had all my life been accustomed to such 
sallies, but more especially after the alarm [of September, 1774] 
up to the affair at Lexington, he had almost daily such like 
communings with himself." 



2IO Israel Putnam [1775 

Putnam's abstraction at Cambridge, which the boy 
noticed, had been very apparent since a session of the 
Council of War at which the report of a committee, 
advising the construction of additional fortifications, 
had been warmly discussed. It was decided to accept 
the part of the report which recommended the building 
of a breastwork near the Red House, another opposite, 
on the side of Prospect Hill, and a redoubt on the top 
of Winter Hill, but there was much difference of 
opinion in regard to the expediency of a redoubt on 
Bunker Hill, which the committee had also recom- 
mended. Colonel Prescott, Colonel Palmer, and other 
oflScers agreed with Putnam in strongly favouring this 
last advanced position, but General Ward and Dr. 
Warren opposed it, arguing that " as we had no 
powder to spare and no battering cannon, it would be 
idle to make approaches on the town." 

Daniel Putnam, in reporting the " spirited conversa- 
tion," tells how his father replied to the objectors and 
what an effect his dauntless spirit had on at least one 
member of the council : 

" He [Putnam] told them they had entirely mistaken his 
views, that it was not for the purpose of battering the town, 
but to draw the enemy from it, where we might meet them on 
equal terms, and that Charlestown and Dorchester were the 
only points where this could be done, that the army wished to 
be employed and the country was growing dissatisfied at the 
inactivity of it. 

"It was objected again that it might bring on a general 
battle and that in our position it was neither politic or safe to 
risk one. 

"He replied, ' 2,000 men will be enough to risk, and with 
that number we will go on and defend ourselves as long and 
as well as we can and then give the ground.' 

"'But suppose your retreat should be intercepted?' 'We 




mm 



W<iiJL:t': 



STATUE OF ISRAEL PUTNAM, 

J. Q. A. WARD, SCULPTOR. 



17751 A Bold Leader 211 

will guard against that, and run when we can contend no 
longer with advantage ; we can outrun them, and behind every 
wall rally and oppose their progress till we join our friends 
again. But suppose the worst, suppose us hemmed in and no 
retreat ; we know what we are contending for ; we will set our 
country an example of which it shall not be ashamed, and 
show those who seek to oppress us what men can do who are 
determined to live yr^^ or not live at all ! ' 

" Warren, he [Putnam] said, rose and walked several times 
across the room, leaned a few moments over the back of a 
chair in a thoughtful attitude and said, ' Almost thou per- 
suadest me, General Putnam, but I must still think the project 
a rash one. Nevertheless, if it should ever be adopted and the 
strife becomes hard, you must not be surprised to find me with 
you in the midst of it.' 

"' I hope not, Sir,' said Putnam, 'you are yet but a young 
man, and our country has much to hope from you both in 
council and in war. It is only a little brush we have been 
contemplating ; let some of us who are older and can well 
enough be spared begin the fray ; there will be time enough 
for you hereafter, for it will not soon be ended.' " 

Young Thomas Knowlton — Putnam's "favourite 
officer," — who was captain of the 5th Company in 
the Connecticut regiment at Cambridge, was among 
those who 

" wholly disapproved of the project, insisting that it would 
probably prove fatal to the American troops engaged in it, for 
the British by landing at Charlestown Neck under the protec- 
tion of the floating batteries and ships of war could cut off 
from the hill all supplies of provisions and ammunition, be- 
sides rendering retreat extremely hazardous if not impossible." 

Knowlton, like Warren, was, however, so impressed 
by Putnam's fearless patriotism, that he expressed a 
hearty willingness to do his part in case the Bunker 
Hill plan were adopted. " I shall accompany j'ou with 
my men and exert myself to the utmost," he was heard 



212 Israel Putnam 



[1775 



to remark to Putnam when the latter came to his quar- 
ters for a private interview on the subject.* 

The question of fortifying Bunker Hill was brought 
up at another session of the Council of War, and again 
Putnam, according to Colonel Swett, " advanced his 
favourite maxim, ' the Americans are not at all afraid 
of their heads though very much afraid of their legs ; 
if you cover these, they will fight forever.' " 

The matter was soon decided, for affairs had reached 
a crisis. The British force in Boston had been in- 
creased by the recent arrival of Generals William 
Howe, Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne, with re- 
inforcements ; and authentic information had been 
brought to the Americans that General Gage intended 
to take possession of Dorchester Heights on the night 
of June 1 8th. The patriotic officers now saw but one 
way to anticipate the hostile movement, and that was 
by occupying the Charlestown Heights without delay. 
Therefore, in accordance with the recommendation of 
the Committee of Safety, they took steps at once that 
" possession of Bunker's Hill be securely kept and 
defended." 

At the time of the adoption of this important meas- 
ure, the main body of the American forces was at 
Cambridge, where General Ward had established his 
headquarters. It numbered between seven and eight 
thousand men, — nearly one-half of the whole army 
around Boston, — and included fifteen Massachusetts 
regiments, a battalion of artillery, and Putnam's own 
regiment, with other Connecticut troops. Most of the 
Connecticut men, belonging to this centre division of 
the besieging army, were stationed at Inman's farm. 

* Col. Thomas Knowlton by Ashbel Woodward in the New 
England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. xv. 



I775J A Bold Leader 213 

The Tory owner of this estate, Ralph Inman, a mer- 
chant, was at the time a refugee in Boston. His wife, 
who with her nieces had remained behind at the home- 
stead, became greatly alarmed at the presence of the 
" rebel troops" on the farm and applied to Putnam 
for protection against any depredations by them. 
Kxtra guards were accordingly posted near the dwell- 
ing, and in order to relieve Mrs. Inman further of 
needless anxiety, the General arranged that his son 
should become a member of her household. 

"By direction of my father," says Daniel, "from about the 
middle of Ma}-, I lodged every night in her house " ; and he 
adds, with pardonable pride, "Young as I was, the family con- 
fided much in the protection afforded by General Putnam's 
son." 

After returning as usual in the morning from the 
Inman home to the Borland house near the college 
buildings, the lad was quick to observe, on the day 
preceding the battle of Bunker Hill, that preparations 
were being made for a military enterprise of import- 
ance. His greatest interest centred in the fact that 
his father was evidently to take a leading part in it. 





CHAPTER XVII 



the; battle of bunker hih, 



1775 

HEN orders were issued on Friday, June 
16, 1775, for a detachment to parade on 
Cambridge Common at six o'clock that 
evening, the men were not informed in 
regard to the object of the expedition, 
but they were told to furnish them- 
selves with all the intrenching tools in the camp, with 
provisions for twenty-four hours, and with packs and 
blankets. 




"I noticed an unusual stir among the troops at Cambridge," 
writes Daniel Putnam in recalling the events of that day. 
"Putnam's regiment was under arms, and I was informed by 
the Adjutant that a detachment had been made from it for 
' secret service ' ; but what at the time impressed my mind 
most strongly was the preparation my father himself was mak- 
ing. With his own hands he prepared cartridges for his pistols, 
took out the old flints and put in the new. While he was doing 
this, Col. Prescott came in and observing what he was about, 
said in a low tone, ' I see, General, you are making preparation 
and we shall be ready at the time.' " 

There had been an " understanding" between the 
Connecticut hero and the brave Pepperell officer that 

214 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 215 

the latter should have part in the expedition if it 
should ever be undertaken. " General Ward was ap- 
prised of this," Daniel reports what he heard his father 
state in after years in regard to the promise, " and 
Prescott with all his regiment was ordered on that 
service." 

Besides Prescott's regiment, two other Massachusetts 
regiments — Colonel Ebenezer Bridge's and Colonel 
James Frye's — were ordered to parade, but, according 
to Putnam's statement, " it was found that intrenching 
tools could not be had for more than about i,ooo men." 
So a detachment, equal to that number onl}', was made 
up of details from the three Massachusetts regiments. 
This force was to be accompanied by Captain Samuel 
Gridley's artillery company with two field-pieces. In 
compliance with the urgent request of Putnam, two 
hundred Connecticut men under Captain Thomas 
Knowlton were also ordered to march. 

The whole working-force was put in charge of Colonel 
Prescott. The veteran Colonel Richard Gridley, the 
chief engineer, was to mark out the line of the proposed 
fortification on Bunker Hill. Owing to the peculiarly 
loose organisation of the American army around Boston 
and lack of system in the camp, no specific directions 
in regard to the general command on the Charlestown 
peninsula, in case of an engagement there with the 
enemy, were issued by General Ward ; his orders to 
Prescott related only to the special duty of building 
and defending the redoubt itself. Patriotic interests 
however, outweighed military technicalities. Putnam 
was preparing to go on the field to exercise by virtue 
of his rank such authority as the pressing emergency 
might demand. That he had been identified with the 
warlike project as its moving spirit from the time it was 



2i6 Israel Putnam [1775 

first suggested at a council of general oflficers, and that 
he was now strenuously solicitous for its success, were 
of themselves sufficient reasons for his assuming in this 
crisis certain rights of leadership in the execution of 
the enterprise. 

Daniel describes with touching simplicity the parting 
from his father on the eve of the memorable battle : 

"A little after sunset my father called me aside and said, 
' You will go to Mrs. Inman's as usual to-night, and it is time 
you were gone. You need not return here in the morning, but 
stay there to-morrow ; the family may want you and if they 
find it necessary to leave the house, you must go with them 
where they go ; and try now, my son, to be as serviceable to 
them as you can.' 

"This order, connected with what I had seen during the day, 
left no doubt in my mind that some military movement was 
going forward in which my father was to participate. I called 
to mind his abstraction and self-communing, the broken sen- 
tences that had escaped him, indicating battle and bloodshed- 
ding, and my imagination pictured him as mangled with wounds 
and none to help him. With earnest entreaty I asked leave to 
accompany him. 'You, dear father,' I said, 'may need my 
assistance much more than Mrs. Inman ; pray let me go where 
you are going.' — 'No, no, Daniel, do as I have bid you,' was 
the answer which he affected to give sternly, while his voice 
trembled and his eyes filled. Then, as if perfectly compre- 
hending what had been passing in my mind, he added, 'You 
can do little, my son, where I am going, and besides, there will 
be enough to take care of me.' 

" I went as directed to Mrs. Inman's, but took no interest in 
the conversation of her nieces or the maternal kindness of their 
aunt ; my mind was elsewhere and I retired early to bed, but 
not to sleep ; the night was as sleepless to me as to those who 
were toiling or watching on the confines of Boston. I had a 
strong suspicion that Charlestown was the spot to which the 
hostile movement was directed ; and long before the first gun 
was fired I had risen and seated myself at the window of my 
chamber, anxiously looking thitherward." 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 217 

Meanwhile the troops, chosen for the military under- 
taking which had excited the boy's solicitous wonder- 
ing had paraded on Cambridge Common, and after 
prayer by President Samuel Langdon of Harvard Col- 
lege, had set out about nine o'clock on their mysterious 
march. At their head was Colonel Prescott, who was 
preceded a few paces by two sergeants carrying dark 
lanterns. The waggons, laden with intrenching tools, 
brought up the rear of the column. Putnam on horse- 
back had ridden in advance to Charlestown Neck, 
where he awaited the detachment. Soon through the 
darkness he descried the forms of Prescott and the men, 
approaching with silent tread. " We were halted at 
the Neck by General Putnam," testifies Josiah Cleve- 
land, a Connecticut private, " and ordered to load with 
two balls." The object of the expedition, hitherto 
kept secret, was now explained by the officers to the 
soldiers, and after a small party had been detached to 
guard the lower part of Charlestown the main body of 
troops advanced over Bunker Hill, — the round smooth 
hill, one hundred and ten feet high, which sloped on 
their right towards the Charles River and on their left 
towards the Mystic River. " We marched in profound 
silence," says Cleveland, " General Putnam at our 
head." 

On a ridge of ground, on the south, which connected 
Bunker Hill with another height. Breed's Hill, seventy- 
five feet high, the troops halted again. A long discus- 
sion, in which Putnam took part, ensued as to just what 
place should be fortified. Samuel Gray, a contempor- 
ary, says that 

"the engineer [Colonel Richard Gridley] and two generals 
[General Putnam and probably General John Whitconib] went 
on to the hill at night, and reconnoitred the ground ; that one 



2i8 Israel Putnam [1775 

general and the engineer were of the opinion we ought not to 
intrench on Charlestown Hill (Breed's Hill) till we had thrown 
up some works on the north and south ends of Bunker Hill, 
to cover our men in their retreat if that should happen ; but on 
the pressing importunity of the other general officer it was 
consented to begin as was done." * 

In deciding thus to proceed to Breed's Hill, the emi- 
nence nearest Boston, the officers agreed that works 
should be begun as soon as possible on Bunker Hill, 
for the order was explicit as to fortifying the latter 
position. 

It was nearly midnight. Time was precious, for only 
four hours remained before dawn. Engineer Gridley 
hastily marked out the plan for a fortification on the 
hill farthest to the front. Noiselessly the pickaxes 
and shovels were unloaded from the carts and dis- 
tributed. The men unslung their packs, stacked their 
arms, and vigorously set to work raising the defences 
which on the morrow would challenge and astonish the 
enemy. British men-of-war and floating batteries lay 
anchored along the water-front, all within gun-shot, 
but neither the sailors on board of them nor the 
sentinels pacing up and down the Boston shore, sus- 
pected that in the silent watches of that summer night 
more than a thousand " rebels " were throwing up in- 
trenchments on the hilltop not far away. While the 
labourers were thus busily employed, Putnam himself 
returned to Cambridge, not only tr secure " refresh- 
ments and a reinforcement or relief for those who were 
expected to toil all the night," but also that he might 
be " mounted afresh," for " his gait," Colonel Samuel 



* Letter by Samuel Gray to Mr. Dyer, dated Roxbury, Mass., 
July 12, 1775. 




GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM. 

FROM THE PAINTING BY ALONZO CHAPPEL. 



220 Israel Putnam [1775 

Galloping back in hot haste to Charlestown, Putnam 
must have seen, as he neared the unfinished redoubt, the 
tall figure of Prescott outlined in full view against the 
gray sky of early day, walking leisurely backwards and 
forwards on the parapet. The dauntless colonel, ex- 
posed to the enemy's guns, was encouraging the men at 
their task, and by his own fearlessness inspiring them 
with confidence. It was very apparent, however, that 
after the exhausting labour of the night, the troops 
needed to be relieved as soon as possible. The sun rose 
red, the air was oppressive, and there was every sign that 
the weather would become intensely hot. Putnam, on 
finding that there was much suffering among the men 
from want of food and drink, as well as from heat and 
fatigue, determined to return again to Cambridge to 
urge General Ward, who had hesitated about weaken- 
ing further the main army until the enemy's plans of 
attack were more definitely known, to forward pro- 
visions and reinforcements without delay. " I saw 
Putnam and Prescott in conversation," states Thomp- 
son Maxwell, who was one of the patriot diggers at 
that early hour in the redoubt ; " immediately after. 
Put mounted his horse and rode full speed towards 
Cambridge." " General Putnam," says Henry Bur- 
beck, another soldier, in his reminiscences of the sultry 
morning, " rode between Charlestown and Cambridge 
without a coat, in his shirt-sleeves, and an old white 
felt hat on, to report to General Ward, and to consult 
upon further operations." 

Putnam was delayed at Cambridge by the difiiculty 
of obtaining more soldiers. Ward, in fear that the 
British would make the principal attack at Cambridge, 
was doubtful of the expediency of reducing the force 
stationed there and in the vicinity. On yielding finally 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 221 

to Putnam's importunity, lie ordered one-third of Colo- 
nel John Stark's New Hampshire regiment to march to 
Charlestown. After this concession by Ward, Putnam 
attended to the supply of ammunition, the scarcity of 
which was a source of grave apprehension to the mem- 
bers of the Committee of Safety who were assembled in 
the Hastings house on Cambridge Common. Eighteen 
barrels of powder had recently reached him from Con- 
necticut, and these he now sent to them for such 
disposal as they might authorise. The necessary pre- 
parations in anticipation of the attack which Putnam 
believed the British would make in front of Breed's 
Hill occupied so much of his time at Cambridge, that 
it was nearly ten o'clock before he was able to start 
back for Charlestown. On his way thither, he met 
Major Brooks, whom Prescott had dispatched for troops 
from General Ward. Putnam, spurring his horse for- 
ward towards the heights, presently came within range 
of several floating batteries which were pla^'ing on the 
American works. He was heartily welcomed at the 
intrenchments ; and, riding along the lines, he told 
the anxious soldiers of General Ward's promise to send 
refreshments and reinforcements. Most of the men 
had ceased labour, for the redoubt, eight rods square, 
with a breastwork extending one hundred yards on a 
line with its eastern side, was now substantially 
finished. During the morning, a private had been 
killed by a cannon-ball, but otherwise the British guns 
had done little damage. 

No sooner did Putnam see the pickaxes and spades, 
which were piled in the rear of the redoubt, than he 
determined to begin the erection of works on Bunker 
Hill, in order that the troops might have a "second 
rally ing-point " in case they were " ultimately driven 



222 Israel Putnam i^-j^^ 

from IIk- (irst position." He accord iiij^'jy told Colonel 
I'rcscott " that the intrejichin^ tools ninst he sent off." 
I'rescott, however, remonstrated, rearing, that if any ol' 
the men be>^!in to intrench on thcothrr hill they wonld 
not luive the courn>{e to retmn to the front at the tiim- 
of an attack. "They shall every man return," was 
I'litnani'H reply.' And the (icncral did not wholly 
mi.sjlid^e the hdclily and darin)-, of tin- I.ihonrcrs, who 
did y,(} to iinnker Hill, lor later in the day .some ol 
them I'onj'.ht well at the rail fence and others of them 
wi'iit l);i(k to the rcdouht. It w:is ;d»onl eleven o'clock 
when Ihi- tools weic removed fioiii r.rci'd's Hill. 

" I'lilmuii," reidlcs t'(i|)tniii Ivl»<iK/,<r ilinicron, " rode up to iih 
nt llic fori, iind hiivh, ' My liiiis, tlicsc tools intiHt he ciniicil 
liiK li,' mill tinned iiiiil lodc iiwiiy. An oiiicr wmh iicvt r olxycil 
willi iiioic rciiiliiicsH. I'ldiii cvi ry p.nl ol the line voliiiit<-ci!i 
I (Ml, .1 III I Millie I lie I: III ii|> one, Millie I wo sliovi Is, iii;it loeks, MiC. , 
anil Inn 1 ieil ovei t lie hill." 

So enerj.(etic was I'ntnam in his efforts to fortify the 
second emimMicelhat in- n.nrowly escaped several timis 
from cannon halls. " I expected to ,see him kiujckcd 
ofl," narrates Jo.scph I'earci*, who watched liini lide 
fearlessly from point to jjoint. Altlion)'h the (itneial 
Hucoeeded in settinj', men to work on I'.ind^cr Hill, 
there was little time left for throwing; np the additional 
defences. At noonday the (i/as(<m> frij^atc and Syiii- 
nulry tnuisport were rakinj; Charlestown Neck. The 
SoincistI \\\\\\\ of war and two (loatinjj^ battel ies at the 
ferry and the hatli-ry on CN)pp's Hill were pominj^' a 
heavy lire on the redonlit, while the luiho)! and l.ivrl\\ 
aimed vessels, swept I he low ^'jonnds in front of I'.ri-ed's 

* i]fnii<iirs <>/ IMiijot (iiiufiil \i'i//i<iiii llralh, i7</S. 



Ill': 



Tlu- VuxWU- of l^.unkd Hill 



2 2 "I 



llill. lIiidiT ('()\HT ol llic lurioiis chuiioii.hIi', l):ii^t'.s 
lillrd willi sc;iilt-t iiiiiloiiiii-d troops sti'iTtd towaiils 
Cliark'Slovvii. Soon llic Hrilisli were scl-m landing; in 
^ood order at Moulton's I'oiiit on the south east eonier 
of the |>iniiisida. I'ulnaiii started iiiiiiii'diaU-l\' lor 
Cambridge to secure aid aj;aiiist the inipeiidiii^ atlaidc. 
vSiiiee his hisL trip there, the Coniiiiitlc-t' of vSafety had 
l)ic\ ailed upon (iCIlcr.'ll Ward to forwaid the whole 
ol the regiments of Colonels Stark and Kced ol Nt;w 
I rani])shire, but these troops had not >et reached the 
Heights. 

The news of the landini-, of the enemy was receix'ed 
with ^reflt cxeitcnu-nl in C'amhrid^e. ( u iieral U'aid 
ordered a larj^e part of the Massaehusi-tts forces to 
march ;it once to CharU'Stowu. rntnam's eldest son, 
Israel, was a conspicuous lij.',ure in hniryiii); on the 
Connecticut men in accordance with his latlui's direc- 
tions. 

When Tntnam ri'tnrned to Chark-slown, haviu}.', 
passed a " j^'.allin}; I'lililadini', lire of round, bar and 
chain shot, which thunderc-d across tlu- Neck," he 
found that Knowlton's two hundred C'onnccticut nu n 
of the orij^iual detachment and ( Iridley's artillery com- 
pany were just leaving the redoubt. They had bec-n 
sent out to oppose the enemy's liidd win;'., foi" I'lcscott 
judiu'd that the Ihilish were ])lannin}', to ^;urround the 
works. IMitnam's <pii(Mc },',lanee had alieadv detc-cted 
the probability of a Hank movement b\' the hostile 
troops. Ridini; up to Knowllon and his men ;is they 
marched down I rom I'.ii-ed's Hill, the (liiicial pointed 
to a position about two hundicd yards in the icar of 
the redoul>t and ordered them to follow him. lie led 
them in haste to a fence of posts .and rails, set in a low 
stone wall, exteiidini; for about threidiuiidred yards or 



224 Israel Putnam ['775 

more towards the Mystic River. At this fence, where, 
in the words of a soldier, " nature had formed some- 
thing of a breastwork, or else there had been a ditch 
many years agone, " the Connecticut detachment 
" grounded arms and went to a neighbouring parallel 
fence," which was also " half of stone and two rails of 
wood " and " brought rails and made a slight fortifica- 
tion against musket-ball." Freshly mown hay, which 
lay in the adjacent field, was hastily gathered and piled 
between the rails, giving the appearance of shelter. 
The artillery company made ready to guard with its 
two field-pieces the exposed position between the rail- 
fence and the earth breastwork on Breed's Hill. 

And now Putnam's attention was directed elsewhere, 
for Colonel Stark put in an appearance, having boldly 
crossed the Neck under the hot fire of the enemy. 
Putnam galloped to meet him and retained a part of 
the New Hampshire regiment to labour at the intrench- 
ments on Bunker Hill. " Push on. Colonel Stark; the 
enemy have landed and formed," was his shout to 
the ofiicer himself. Stark accordingly led the rest of 
the newly arrived men to the fence breastwork and 
extended that defence to the edge of Mystic River by 
ordering a stone wall to be built on the beach. Colonel 
Reed soon followed with the other New Hampshire 
regiment apd took post at the rail-fence. Most of the 
Massachusetts troops who came about this time on the 
field proceeded to the redoubt and its adjacent earth 
breastwork ; the rest, instead of marching up Breed's 
Hill, turned to the left, for Putnam had shouted to the 
officers in some of the regiments, " Draw off your 
troops here and man the rail-fence, for the enemy 's 
flanking of us fast." A company of artillery under 
Captain John Callender arrived, and was directed to 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 225 

the open space where Captain Gridley and his men 
were stationed. 

On wheeling his horse, after giving orders near one 
of the cannon, Putnam suddenly encountered Dr. Joseph 
Warren, who, in accordance with his declared intention 
to share the peril of the day with his fellow-patriots, 
was hastening down the slope of Bunker Hill on foot, 
with a sword at his side and a musket on his shoulder. 
This young President of the Provincial Congress of 
Massachusetts had recently been appointed a major- 
general in the army of his colony, but he proposed to 
serve in the coming battle simply as a volunteer aid. 
Putnam dismounted and entered into an earnest con- 
versation with him. " The two generals were stand- 
ing," a soldier who was passing by used to tell, " and 
General Putnam had hold of the bridle of his horse." 
" They consulted on measures to be pursued," writes 
Colonel Swett, who afterwards learned the substance of 
the conversation. 

"General Putuam informed him [Warren] that from long 
experience he perfectly comprehended the character of the 
British army ; they wonld nltimately succeed and drive us from 
the works, but from the mode of attack they had chosen, it was 
in our power to do them infinite mischief, though we must be 
prepared for a brave and orderly retreat when we could main- 
tain our ground no longer." 

Daniel Putnam, who recounts what his father told 
him about the talk with Warren, is our authority for 
these memorable words which passed between the two 
patriots : 

"Alluding to a former conversation he [General Putnam] 
said, ' I am sorry to see you here. General Warren ; I wish you 
had taken my advice and left this day to us, for, from appear- 
ances, we shall have a sharp time of it, and since you are here 
15 



2 26 Israel Putnam [1775 

I am ready to submit myself to your orders.' "Warren replied, 
' I came only as a volunteer ; I know nothing of your disposi- 
tions, nor will I interfere with them. Tell me where I can be 
most useful.' Putnam pointed to the redoubt and, intent on 
his [Warren's] safety, said, ' You will be covered there.' ' Don't 
think,' said Warren, ' I came here to seek a place of safety, but 
tell me where the onset will be most furious.' Putnam pointed 
again to the redoubt, 'That,' said he, 'is the enemy's object; 
Prescott is there and will do his duty, and if it can be defended 
the day will be ours.' Warren left him and walked quietly 
towards the redoubt." 

The cheers which presently rose from Breed's Hill 
told how cordially Warren was greeted there by the 
men. On entering the redoubt he was tendered the 
command by Prescott, but with modest heroism he re- 
plied to him, as he had done to Putnam, that he came 
only as a volunteer, and would be happy to learn from 
a soldier of experience. Soon there appeared on the 
scene of action another patriotic volunteer who was 
enthusiastically received with huzzas from different 
parts of the field. This was none other than Putnam's 
comrade of twenty years before in the bloody battle of 
Lake George, — the dauntless Seth Pomeroy, now in his 
seventieth year. Having borrowed a neighbour's horse 
at his Northampton home, he had, despite feeble health, 
ridden a hundred miles and had arrived this very day 
at Cambridge. Leaving the borrowed horse out of 
harm's way, he walked over Charlestown Neck, regard- 
less of the fire which swept it, and reached the Heights 
just as the enemy were preparing for the assault of the 
works. When Putnam caught sight of the old man, 
whose fighting days were supposed to be ended, striding 
gun in hand, up the hill, he shouted, " By God! Pom- 
eroy, you here ! A cannon-shot would waken you out 
of your grave ! ' ' 



17751 The Battle of Bunker Hill 227 

At this hour — nearly three o'clock in the afternoon 
— about three thousand British troops had landed on 
the Charlestown peninsula. With intense excitement 
the Americans watched the brilliant battalions of 
Grenadiers and Light Infantry forming on Moul ton's 
Point into two divisions. The Grenadiers, the tallest 
and finest-looking men in the British army, who could 
be distinguished also by their high caps and other 
peculiarities in dress, were to lead in the attack. vSoon 
the redoubled roar of artillery told that the ranks of 
veterans had been put in motion for the general assault. 
Presently the defenders of the rail-fence could see, 
through the smoke, the right wing of the enemy's 
force approaching slowly and steadily to drive them 
from their position and to cut off the retreat of the men 
in the redoubt, against which the left wing was ad- 
vancing. 

Putnam was all activity, riding up and down just 
behind the soldiers at the fence who rested their deadly 
weapons on the top rail and awaited with excited 
eagerness the order to fire. Says Reuben Kemp, one 
of this number : 

*' General Putnam seemed to have the ordering of things. 
He charged the men not to fire until the enemy came close to 
the works, and then to take good aim, and make every shot 
kill a man, and he told one officer to see that this order was . 
obeyed." 

Philip Johnson relates of Putnam : " I distinctly 
heard him say, ' Men, you are all marksmen — don't 
one of 5^ou fire until you see the white of their eyes.' " 
Other words of Putnam were repeated along the line 
by Knowlton and Reed and Stark to the men whose 
fingers were so impatient to pull the waiting trigger : 



228 Israel Putnam [1775 

" Powder is scarce and must not be wasted." "Fire low." 
" Take aim at the waistbands." "You are all marksmen and 
could kill a squirrel at a hundred yards." " Reserve your fire 
and the enemy will all be destroyed." "Aim at the handsome 
coats." " Pick off the commanders." 

While the soldiers awaited the nearer approach of 
the British, Captains Gridley and Callender were 
ordered to return the enemy's fire with their field- 
pieces. The former officer found difficulty in discharg- 
ing his cannon, and on a plea that " nothing could be 
done with them," left the post, and most of his artillery 
company followed his example. 

"General Putnam came to one of the pieces near which I 
stood," says Ezra Runnels, one of the men who did not desert, 
" and furiously inquired where our officers were. On being 
told our cartridges were too big and that the pieces could not 
be loaded, he swore, and said they could be loaded ; taking a 
cartridge he broke it open, and loaded the pieces with a ladle, 
which were discharged ; and assisted us in loading two or three 
times in that manner." 

The guns, however, were soon disabled and were drawn 
to the rear. Callender, too, retreated in great haste 
with his cannon, but on reaching Bunker Hill he 
met Putnam, who, according to the contemporaneous 
account, 

" ordered the officer to stop and go back ; he replied he had no 
cartridges ; the General dismounted and examined his boxes, 
and found a considerable number of cartridges, upon which he 
ordered him back ; he refused, until the General threatened 
him with immediate death, upon which he returned." * 

* This early account is based on a statement which Putnam 
himself made to a committee appointed, soon after the battle 
of Bunker Hill, by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, 
"to inquire into the misconduct of Capt. Callender." The re- 
port of the committee will be found in Force's American Ar- 
chives^ Fourth Series, vol. ii., p. 1438. 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 229 

But Callender did not remain long this second time at 
the post. " His men," asserts Colonel vSwett, " were 
disgusted with a part of the service they did not under- 
stand, most of them had muskets and mingled with the 
infantry, the pieces were entirely deserted, and the 
captain relinquished them." Putnam, on returning 
from Bunker Hill, whither he had gone to bring on 
some of the men who were intrenching there, came 
upon the abandoned cannon " at the foot of the hill." 
He demanded of the soldiers in the vicinity where the 
gunners were and was told that they had scattered. 
Captain John Ford's company of Bridge's regiment 
happened to be passing by and Putnam called upon 
them to draw the guns to the front. 

"Our men utterly refused," declares a member of the com- 
panj', "and said they had no knowledge of the use of artillery, 
and that they were ready to fight with their own arms. Captain 
Ford then addressed the company in a very animated, patriotic 
and brave strain, which is characteristic of the man ; the com- 
pany then sei/.ed the drag-ropes and soon drew them to the rail- 
fence, according to my recollection about half the distance from 
the redoubt on Breed's Hill to Mystic River." 

Putnam now directed in person the discharges. 

"He pointed the cannon himself," says Swett ; "the balls 
took effect on the enemy, and one case of canister made a lane 
through them. With wonderful courage, however, the enemy 
closed their ranks, and coolly marched on to the attack." * 

The British Grenadiers were advancing directly in 
front, while the Light Infantry, in order to turn the 

*The incidents of the removal of the field-pieces by Captain 
Ford's company to the rail-fence, and the firing of the cannon 
by Putnam, are placed by Colonel Swett, in the first edition of his 
history of the battle, just before the second assault by the Brit- 
ish. In the second and third editions, he says that they 



230 Israel Putnam [1775 

extreme left of the American force, moved along the 
shore of the Mystic River. When the enemy were 
seen deploying into line, a few of the men at the rail- 
fence could not resist the temptation to fire their 
muskets without orders. Instantly the General left 
the cannon and hastened to the spot. 

"General Putnam appeared to be very angry," narrates 
Private Reuben Kemp, "and passed along the lines quickly 
with his sword drawn, and threatened to stab any man that 
fired without orders. 

"The enemy kept firing as they advanced, and when they 
had got pretty near the works, we were all ordered to take good 
aim and fire. All this time General Putnam was constantly 
passing backwards and forwards, from right to left, telling us 
the day was our own if we would only stick to it." 

Although the British, in a patriot oflScer's words, 
" fired their heaviest volleys of musketry with admir- 
able coolness and regularity " their aim was too high, 
and consequently " almost every ball passed harm- 
lessly over the Americans." The royal troops were 
about eight rods distant when the Provincials, breath- 
less and intent, received the " fatal order." The blaze 
which poured upon the King's ranks was no less 
withering than that which had already strewed the 
ground in front of the redoubt with the dead and 
wounded. Another murderous discharge burst forth 
from the fence and, as the enemy recoiled in confusion, 
many of the Americans, being sharpshooters, picked 
out the British ofi&cers and exclaimed, ' ' There ! See 



occurred when the British were advancing the first time. This 
latter order of events is followed by Frothingham in his Siege 
of Boston and Ellis in his History of the Battle of Bunker Hill^ 
and by other writers who have depended upon Swett for the 
principal facts. 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 231 

that officer! Let us have a shot at him! " and then 
two or three would fire at the same time. Like the 
division which was on the retreat before Prescott and 
his men at the redoubt, this wing of the British army, 
after attempting to make a stand, was obliged to give 
way. On seeing the assailants retire, the Americans 
set up a shout, and some of them leaped over the 
fence with the intention of pursuing the enemy, but 
they were restrained by their officers. 

While the " huzza of victory re-echoed through the 
American line," Putnam, confident that another attack 
would soon be made, rode to Bunker Hill and to the 
rear of it to urge on reinforcements. At the farther 
end of Charlestown Neck were gathered troops who 
dared not cross the isthmus on account of the cannon- 
balls that raked it. 

" Putnam flew to the spot," chronicles Swett, " to overcome 
their fears and hurry them on before the enemy returned. He 
entreated, threatened, and encouraged them ; lashing his horse 
with the flat of his sword, he rode backward and forward across 
the Neck, through the hottest tire, to convince them there was 
no danger. The balls, however, threw up clouds of dust about 
him, and the soldiers were perfectly convinced that he was in- 
vulnerable, but not equally conscious of being so themselves. 
Some of these troops, however, ventured over." 

Putnam now started for the front with the men 
whom he had succeeded in getting across the Neck. 
On his way he tried to rally the reinforcements which 
had already reached Bunker Hill. 

The men were disorganised and dispersed on the west 
side of the hill, and were covered by the sununit from 
the fire. Putnam ordered them on to the lines. 

" He entreated and threatened them," says vSwett, "and some 
of the most cowardly he knocked down with bis sword, but all 



232 Israel Putnam [1775 

in vain. The men complained they had not their officers ; he 
offered to lead them on himself, but [they pleaded as an excuse 
for not following him that] ' the cannon were deserted and 
they stood no chance without them.' The battle indeed ap- 
peared here in all its horrors. The British musketry fired high 
and took effect on this elevated liill and it was completely ex- 
posed to the combined fire from the ships, batteries, and field- 
pieces." 

The British, under cover of their artillery, were ad- 
vancing for the second assault. Putnam hastened 
forward to the rail-fence. Beyond the redoubt the 
flames were rising over Charlestown, which had been 
set on fire by shells thrown from Copp's Hill and by a 
party of marines who had landed from the Somerset 
warship. Fortunately the wind drove away the huge 
clouds of smoke and gave the Americans a full view of 
the approaching enemy. The British marched in the 
same order as in the fir.st attack ; their left wing was 
moving towards the redoubt and its earth breastwork, 
their right wing was coming on towards the rail-fence. 
The assailants were keeping up a steady fire as they 
advanced, but, behind the defences, the Americans had 
orders to reserve their fire until the columns should 
come even nearer than before. " I saw General Put- 
nam," states a Connecticut private who was at the 
rustic breastwork of green grass, " riding along the 
whole line and crying out, ' Stick to your posts, men, 
and do your duty ' ; he was greatly expo-sed." 

When at length the redcoats were only six rods 
away, a sheet of fire belched from the fence with such 
fearful precision that whole platoons of the Briti.sh 
were swept down. " General Putnam encouraged us 
very much," relates a soldier, Samuel Jones, " and 
rode up and down behind us ; his hor.se was all of a 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 233 

lather, and the battle was going on very hotly at the 
time." 

"General Putnam came up to our Regiment," says another 
soldier, John Ilolden ; "he appeared very actively enj<aj^ed in 
the action. One of the Regiment got down Ijehind a haycock ; 
General Putnam rode up and cried, ' Gods curse him ! run him 
through if he won't fight ! ' gave him one or two blows with his 
sword aud drove him into the ranks." 

The Anierican.s were kept steady by the intrepid 
General. 

The enemy, staggering over their dead and wounded, 
closed their ranks and repeated their attack, l)ut they 
were met by the same deliberate aim, and their troops 
broke before the terrific volleys. " By God! " Putnam 
is said to have exclaimed, when he saw the King's men 
fall under the shower of bullets, " I never saw such a 
carnage of the human race." Three times General 
Howe, the commander of the right wing of the royal 
army, was left alone, so many of his staff fell around 
him. May not the reason why he was spared have 
been that many of the Provincials cherished the memory 
of his noble brother, the beloved I/jrd Howe, whom 
they had followed in the P^rench and Indian War ? 
Major vSmall was among the I>ritish officers exposed to 
the American fire ; his life was saved by Putnam, as 
Small himself used to tell in after years. This is his 
story : 

" I, with the other officers, was in front of the line to encour- 
age the men ; we had advanced very near the works, undis- 
turbed, when an irregular fire, like afcu-dc-joie, was poured iu 
upon us ; it was cruelly fatal. The troops fell back ; and when 
I looked to the right and left, I saw not one officer standing ; 
I glanced my eye to the enemy, and saw several young men 



234 Israel Putnam [1775 

levelling their pieces at me ; I kuew their excellence as marks- 
men, and I considered m^'self gone. 

" At that moment, my old friend Putnam rushed forward, 
and striking up the muzzles of their pieces with his sword 
cried out, ' For God's sake, my lads, don't fire at that man ! I 
love him as I do my brother.' We were so near each other that 
I heard his words distinctly. He was obeyed ; I bowed, thanked 
him, and walked away unmolested." * 

After an heroic attempt to force the American lines, 



* This testimony by Small is contained in a letter dated " New 
York, 30th March, 1818," from Colonel John Trumbull, the 
painter of historic scenes of the American Revolution, to Daniel 
Putnam. Trumbull prefaces Small's story thus : " In the sum- 
mer of 1786, I became acquainted, in London, with Col. John 
Small, of the British army, who had served in America many 
years, and had known General Putnam intimately, during the 
War of Canada, from 1756 to 1763. Looking at the picture [of 
the Battle of Bunker Hill] which I had almost completed, he 
said, ' I don't like the situation in which you have placed my 
old friend Putnam ; you have not done him justice. I wish 
you would alter that part of your picture, and introduce a cir- 
cumstance which actually happened, and which I can never 
forget.' " 

Then follows in Trumbull's letter the anecdote as given 
above. 

Some writers have felt that the story of the saving of Small's 
life by Putnam wears too much the air of romance to be im- 
plicitly relied upon. In reply to such critics, these words of 
Daniel Webster in the North American Rcviciv, July, 1818, 
may be cited : " There is, and can be, no doubt that Col. Small 
has stated the fact ; and there is the positive declaration of 
Daniel Putnam, that his father mentioned the same occurrence 
to him shortly after it happened. Very probably there is one 
mistake into which Colonel Trumbull may have fallen. It was 
not at the redoubt that the incident happened, but at the breast- 
work or the rail-fence. Admitting this to have crept into the 
account given by Colonel Trumbull, the essential facts remain 
altogether uncontradicted." 



'-^k 



J 







'V _ 



■^-, 



^'A^^-.. 




GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM. 

AFTER THE PAINTING BY COLONEL TRUMBULL. 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 235 

the British were at length compelled to give way again 
before the defenders of the rail-fence. This time the 
enemy retreated in greater disorder than after the first 
attack. Some of them even ran to the boats for safety. 
The assailants under General Pigot were as precipitously 
driven back from the front of the redoubt. There was 
a continuous stream of fire on Breed's Hill, from Pres- 
cott's men, from the first discharge until the enemy 
broke and fled. The ground in front of the works was 
covered with the dead and dying. Putnam now rode 
again to the rear to hasten forward the scattered rein- 
forcements and to attempt to carry out the plan of 
intrenching Bunker Hill. On meeting Colonel Gar- 
diner's regiment on that eminence, he retained a part 
of the troops to labour on the works and ordered the rest 
to the rail-fence. Portions of other regiments arrived 
on the peninsula, but owing to the great confusion and 
excitement some of the men did not advance to the 
front. 

Although some of the Americans had encouraged 
themselves with the hope that the British, after being 
obliged to retire twice with terrible loss, would not 
renew the attack, the enemy rallied and began to pre- 
pare for another attempt to carry the works by storm. 
General Clinton crossed the Charles River with rein- 
forcements, and General Howe massed the columns for 
a more concentrated movement against the redoubt. 
From the American lines a part of the enemy's arrange- 
ments could be observed. The regulars were laying 
aside their knapsacks in order to advance in light order 
and charge with the bayonet. The artillery was being 
pushed forward to a position where it could take ad- 
vantage of the gap between the breastwork and the 
rail-fence, and thus rake the interior of the redoubt. 



236 Israel Putnam [177$ 

The situation of Prescott and his men was desperate, 
owing to the scarcity of their ammunition, but they 
were determined to defend Breed's Hill to the last 
extremity. On came the enemy, this time in silence, 
the whole force advancing towards the redoubt. The 
patriots on the summit of the hill coolly reserved their 
fire until the British were within twenty yards and then, 
at the word of command, they delivered the deadly 
discharge. Many of the enemy fell. Lieutenant- 
Colonel James Abercrombie, at the head of the Grena- 
diers, was among the mortally wounded. While he was 
being borne to the rear by the men, he begged them to 
spare his old friend Putnam. " If you take General 
Putnam alive," he said, "don't hang him, for he's a 
brave man." * 

Under the galling fire of the British artillery, which 
sent their balls through the sallyport directly into the 
redoubt, the Americans were at a great disadvantage, 
in addition to the fact that their ammunition was soon 
expended. They tried to keep their assailants at bay 
by hurling stones, but this only revealed their weak- 
ness and filled the oncoming enemy with confidence. 
The regulars reached the redoubt and began scaling the 
works. The Provincials tried to resist with clubbed 
muskets, but, in the hand-to-hand fight, the bristling 
bayonets forced an entrance and the redcoats swarmed 
into the works. Prescott now gave the order to retreat, 
and his brave band pushed their way out of the redoubt, 
fighting as they went. Among the Americans who fell 
at this time was Warren. He had just left the redoubt 
when a bullet struck him in the forehead. Major 



* Ivondon paper quoted in the New England Chronicle, Nov., 
1775- 




CO a 
U. « 
O r 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 237 

Small is said to have parried the thrust of a soldier 
who was about to plunge his bayonet into the dying 
hero — a scene which is represented by Colonel John 
Trumbull in his well-known painting, Tlic Battle of 
Bunker Hill. 

Meanwhile Putnam, in the rear, was riding up and 
down the slope near the Neck, and shouting to the 
belated men to hurry to the front. " Press on, press 
on," were his excited orders, " our brethren are suffer- 
ing, and will be cut off." 

" The musket-balls," relates William Dickson, who 
l)elonged to one of the companies which was being 
hurried forward to make a stand, " flew very thick 
where Putnam was, nearly or quite on top of Bunker 
Hill. He did not seem to mind it. Putnam had a 
sword in his hand and hallooed to us to drive up." 

The Americans at the rail-fence, whose right hnd 
been opened by the retreat of Prescott's men from the 
redoubt, rendered at this time very valuable service, for 
they defended their line with such ])ravery that the 
enemy could not cut off the soldiers who were making 
their way towards the Neck. At last, however, the 
Provincials under vStark, Reed, Knowlton, and the 
other officers at the rail-fence were compelled to leave 
their position, but they "gave ground," as was re- 
ported, " with more regularity than could have been 
expected of troops who had been no longer under dis- 
cipline, and many of whom never before saw an 
engagement." 

No sooner did Putnam, who was riding from point to 
point along the brow of Bunker Hill in the effort to 
urge forward reinforcements, become aware that the 
whole body of Americans were in full retreat from the 
front, than he attempted to force back the disordered 



238 Israel Putnam [1775 

troops. But his commands were disobeyed, contradic- 
tory orders were given by different oflScers, and, amid 
the clouds of dust and smoke, the Americans continued 
on the retreat in great confusion. The General rode 
to the rear of the excited and struggling mass of men, 
and, waving his sword high in air, shouted in a sten- 
torian voice, " Make a stand here ! " " We can stop 
them yet ! " "In God's name form and give them one 
shot more ! " But the soldiers, regardless of Putnam's 
words, pressed past the unfinished works on Bunker 
Hill where he tried to rally them. " Halt, you damned 
cowards ! " he yelled ; '' halt and give them another 
shot ! " Then, as the men kept on towards the Neck, 
the fiery General, with the imprecation of " God curse 
ye ! " upon the troops over whom he had no control, 
hurriedly dismounted his horse, determined to face the 
oncoming enemy. 

" He took his stand near a field-piece," — this act of Putnam 
we learn from Swett, — " and seemed resolved to brave the foe 
alone. His troops, however, felt it impossible to withstand the 
overwhelming force of the British bayonets ; they left him. 
One sergeant only dared to stand by his general to the last ; he 
was shot down, and the enemy's bayonets were just upon the 
general when he retired." 

One of the American cannon which had been used 
in the battle was dragged to the Neck during 
the retreat, and this opened on the British. The 
enemy, however, after taking possession of Bunker 
Hill with a " parade of triumph," did not follow up 
their success by pursuing the Americans farther and 
making an attack on Cambridge. They set to work 
throwing tip a line of breastworks on the hill where 
Putnam had tried to rally his men. Meanwhile that 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 239 

undaunted American General had succeeded in bring- 
ing most of the retreating Provincials to a halt on 
Winter Hill and Prospect Hill. It was at the latter 
place that Putnam seems to have learned for the first 
time that the noble Warren had been killed. 

"The fate of Warren," says Daniel Putnam in his reminis- 
cences of his father, " brought to his mind that of lyord Howe, 
who fell by his side seventeen years before, and to whom also 
he had given advice [about exposing his life]. I once asked 
my father if he knew any of the particulars of Warren's fate, or 
where or at what time he lost his life. ' Nothing,' he replied, 
' except that Prescott told me he was in the redoubt braving 
the enemy when they stormed it, — but I never saw him after 
we parted before the battle began.' " 

In the same letter, written in after years, Daniel 
Putnam gives an account of himself and the Inman 
family while the battle was in progress, and he also 
speaks of his father's bravery : 

" Mrs. Inman had been all day expecting the British would 
embark troops from the bottom of the common in Boston, and 
land them near where the Lexington detachment was landed, 
and her attention had been chiefly directed to that quarter ; 
but the furious discharge of musketry made it evident they had 
gone out some other way, and were engaged in a battle, the 
issue or consequences of which could not be foreseen. The 
day was drawing towards its close, and dreading the horrors 
that might overwhelm her family in the night, everything was 
put in requisition for a hasty removal ; but it was after sunset, 
and not until it had been ascertained at Cambridge that the 
British had gained possession of Charlestown Heights, with a 
loss on both sides that none pretended to calculate, that we 
passed through the scene of confusion there visible, on our wa}- 
to Brush Hill. 

" We were hastily and but imperfectly accoutred for the 
jaunt, so that it was midnight before we reached our destina- 
tion. On the way, we learned from people who passed us 



240 Israel Putnam [1775 

(some of whom had been in the battle or claimed to have been 
so) that General Putnam was safe ; but his escape was con- 
sidered miraculous, for wonderful tales were told us of the 
dangers with which he had been surrounded, and the uncon- 
cern he appeared to feel when they were the greatest." 

Putnam's activity at the rail-fence and near the re- 
doubt in encouraging the men and commanding them 
not to waste their powder, but to wait before firing 
until they saw the white of the enemy's eyes, the 
authority which he exercised in withdrawing men with 
intrenching tools from Prescott to throw up earth- 
works on the second eminence, his repeated trips across 
Charlestown Neck to obtain reinforcements, his attempts 
to rally the men during the retreat, and his orders after 
the troops came to a halt on Prospect and Winter hills 
are all evidences that he was the foremost leader in 
dififerent parts of the field, and yet the question as to 
who really had the chief command in the battle has 
been the subject of much controversy.* The useless- 
ness of prolonged debate over the matter appears at 
once when the fact is taken into consideration that the 
work of the battle was largely the work of distinct 
bodies of men, not yet organised into one army. In 
this unorganised state of military affairs. Ward was 
in a certain way considered the principal general 
because he was in charge of the largest number of 
troops, those of Massachusetts. In the battle itself, 
Warren was the ranking officer on the field, but as he 



* A bibliography relating to the question of the command in 
the Battle of Bunker Hill will be found in Appendix II. in this 
book. 

A series of interesting articles on the subject of the command, 
by Rev. A. P. Putnam, D.D., was published in the Danvers 
(Mass.) Mirror in 1896. 




GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM. 

FROM THE PAINTING BY J. WILKINSON. 



1775] The Battle of Bunker Hill 241 

expressly declined the command, it left Putnam the 
ranking officer ; and the latter held in a vague, unmili- 
tary fashion the position of chief of the grand division 
of which Prescott's command was a part. It has been 
pertinently remarked that the question of the chief com- 
mand would be more important had the battle of Bunker 
Hill been characterised by any grand tactics. As no 
special generalship was involved, and the significance 
of the battle lay in its moral effects, the question has 
little interest except for local patriots. The contro- 
versy is reall}^ at bottom one of rivalry between Massa- 
chusetts and Connecticut. The important service 
which Putnam rendered at Bunker Hill in the patriotic 
cause is emphatically stated by Washington Irving in 
a noteworthy paragraph. After mentioning the con- 
spicuous part taken in the battle by Prescott, who was 
unquestionably in immediate charge of the detachment 
which built and defended the redoubt, he pays this 
glowing and deserved tribute to Putnam : 

" Putnam also was a leading spirit throughout the affair ; one 
of the first to prompt and one of the last to maintain it. He 
appears to have been active and efficient at every point ; some- 
times fortifying ; sometimes hurrying up reinforcements ; in- 
spiriting the men by his presence while they were able to 
maintain their ground, and fighting gallantly at the outpost to 
cover their retreat. The brave old man, riding about in the 
heat of the action, on this sultry day, ' with a hanger belted 
across his brawny shoulders, over a waistcoat without sleeves,' 
has been sneered at by a contemporary, as ' much fitter to head 
a band of sickle men or ditchers than musketeers.' But this 
very description illustrates his character, and identifies him 
with the times and the service. A yeoman fresh from the plough, 
in the garb of rural labour ; a patriot brave and generous, but 
rough and ready, who thought not of himself in time of danger, 
but was ready to serve in any way, and to sacrifice official rank 



242 



Israel Putnam 



[1775 



and self-glorification to the good of the cause. He was emi- 
nently a soldier for the occasion. His name has long been a 
favourite one with young and old ; one of the talismanic 
names of the Revolution, the very mention of which is like the 
sound of a trumpet. Such names are the precious jewels of 
our history, to be garnered up among the treasures of the 
nation, and kept immaculate from the tarnishing breath of the 
cynic and the doubter." * 



* The Life of George Washington. 




CHAPTER XVill 



BESIEGING BOSTON 




1775-1776 

N occupying Prospect Hill on the retreat 
from the Charlestown Heights, Putnam 
acted on his own responsibility, as ap- 
pears from a statement which he after- 
wards made. 



"Pray," he wrote to the Cambridge Committee of Safety, 
" did I not take possession of Prospect Hill the very night after 
the fight on Bunker Hill, without having any orders from any 
person ? And was not I the only general officer that tarried 
there? The taking of said hill I never could obtain leave for 
before, which is allowed by the best judges was the salvation 
of Cambridge, if not of the country." * 

This prompt occupation of Prospect Hill was in keeping 
with Putnam's purpose to resist at every point; and the 
ultimate value of this position was, as a military critic 
has pointed out, 

" very determining in its relations to the siege. Its advanced 
flanking posts of Lechmere Point, Cobble Hill, and Ploughed 
Hill, afterwards developed by General Washington, combined 
their cross-fire, and thus sealed Charlestown Neck. A protracted 

* Letter dated New York, May 22, 1776, 
243 



244 Israel Putnam [1775- 

halt on Bunker Hill would have been fatal to the whole detach- 
ment ; but his [Putnam's] occupation of Prospect Hill was 
eminently judicious." * 

The soldiers whom Putnam had ordered, immediately 
after the battle, to take post on Prospect Hill began 
throwing up defences, and continued at this task until 
they were relieved during the night by a reinforcement 
which he obtained. Here the lad Daniel arrived the 
next morning, — Sunday, June i8th, — having obtained 
permission from the Inmans to leave Brush Hill, 
whither he had accompanied them the previous even- 
ing. He describes his search for his father and how 
the General was occupied when he found him : 

" I was not long in retracing my steps of the last night [June 
17] back [from Brush Hill] to Cambridge. Genl. Putnam was 
not at his quarters ; he had been there, it was said, for a few 
minutes only, and with fresh men was then fortifying Prospect 
Hill. There I found him about ten o'clock on the morning of 
the i8th of June, dashing about among the workmen throwing 
up intrenchments, and often placing a sod with his own hands. 
He wore the same clothes he had on when I left him, thirty- 
eight hours before, and affirmed he had neither put them off 
nor washed himself since ; and we might well believe him, for 
the aspect of all bore evidence that he spoke the truth. 

" I joined my entreaty to the earnest request of every officer 
round him that he would go to his quarters and take some re- 
freshment and rest. He inquired what had become of Mrs. In- 
man ? I told him where I had left her in safety, and we went 
home together." 

The energetic Putnam could not remain quiet long 
at Cambridge while the British cannon threatened the 
works which were being built. He soon returned to 



*Gen. H. B. Carrington in his Battles of the American Re- 
volution, Fifth Edition, vol. i., p. iii. 



1776] Besieging Boston 245 

resume as active command as ever. He was, as before, 
on horseback, and in a few minutes' space of time could 
be at any part of the heights where the men were dig- 
ging. Works were vigorously carried on not only at 
Prospect Hill but also at Winter Hill, where the New 
Hampshire troops and some Connecticut men had made 
a stand on the night of the battle, and had flung up by 
morning an intrenchmeut about an hundred yards 
square under Putnam's directions.* Nearly four thou- 
sand troops were soon stationed on or near Prospect 
Hill, including eight Massachusetts regiments, the 
officers of which had orders from General Ward not to 
leave their posts without permission from Putnam. 
During the two weeks which followed the battle of 
Bunker Hill, Putnam was exceedingly busy in for- 
warding the completion of the fortifications. The bluff" 
farmer-General had no patience with any of the officers 
who were not ready to share the labour of the men at a 
time when speed in finishing the defences was impera- 
tive. Once he rebuked a dilatory private by an ironical 
allusion to those ofl&cers who were sticklers for mere 
military formalities. The incident is narrated by a 
soldier named Har\^ey : 

"On one occasion General Putnam came along near where 
I was at work, and, seeing a quantity of sods which had just 
been brought up, he addressed himself to one of the men, 
directing him to place them on the wall, remarking at the same 
time, ' You are a soldier, I suppose ? ' The order not being 
executed on the instant, the General added, ' Oh ! I see j'ou are 
an officer ! ' and immediately took hold and placed the sods 
himself. 

"Meanwhile," adds Harvey, "the balls were continually 



* Diary of Lieut. -Col. Experience Storrs of the 3rd (Put- 
nam's) Connecticut Regiment. 



246 Israel Putnam [1775- 

pouriiig in from the British forts, sometimes killing our men, 
and sometimes tearing our works ; but they went forward 
nevertheless, and were soon in a condition to return the 
compliment." 

Sunday, July 2nd, was an eventful day for the patriot 
soldiers around Boston. About two o'clock in the 
afternoon General George Washington, whom the 
Continental Congress had appointed Commander-in- 
chief of all the American troops, reached Cambridge, 
having made the journey from Philadelphia, on horse- 
back, in about ten days. Putnam was one of the 
officers who exchanged personal greetings with Wash- 
ington at the house of President Langdon which, " ex- 
cepting one room reserved by the president for his own 
use," had been " prepared and furnished for the re- 
ception of the Commander-in-chief." Between the 
Virginia chieftain and the Connecticut veteran now 
began a friendship, of which Dr. Albigence Waldo 
wrote in 1818 : 

" Washington and Putnam were unknown to each other until 
they met at Cambridge. The open, undisguised frankness of 
the latter, together with his great activity and personal indus- 
try in everything pertaining to the army, soon attracted the 
attention of the former ; an early intimacy was formed and a 
firm friendship established, which continued undisturbed dur- 
ing the whole period they were associated in service." 

On the morning after his arrival, Washington, ac- 
companied by Putnam and other officers, rode from his 
headquarters to Cambridge Common, where the troops 
were drawn up. There, under the branches of an elm, 
he wheeled his horse, drew his sword, and formally 
assumed command of the Continental army. This 
ceremony over, he made a tour of the different Ameri- 



1776] Besieging Boston 247 

can posts, and on reaching Prospect Hill he was greatly 
impressed b}' what Putnam had accomplished on that 
important height, which commanded a wide view over 
Boston and the surrounding country. A contemporary 
of the energetic and eflScient Connecticut General 
testifies : 

" It was not in Putnam's nature to be idle ; inured to haVjits 
of industry himself, no man was better calculated to make 
others so, and Washington, observing the great progress that 
had been made in a short time in raising the work of defence, 
said to him, 'You seem to have the faculty. General Putnam, 
of infusing your own industrious spirit into all the workmen 
you employ.' " 

On July 4th, — just one year before the memorable 
day of the Declaration of Independence, — Washington 
issued the following in General Orders : * 

"The Hon. Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, 
and Israel Putnam, Esq*., are appointed majors-general in the 
American army, by the honorable Continental Congress, and 
due obedience is to be paid them as such." 

A few days later, the names of eight brigadier- 
generals whom Congress had chosen were formally- 
announced. They were Seth Pomeroy, Richard Mont- 
gomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Jo.seph Spen- 
cer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathanael 
Greene. Trouble brewed in camp in relation to some 
of the appointments, especially because Putnam had 
been advanced over Spencer, and Pomeroy over 
Thomas. It is interesting to have Washington's ac- 
count of the controversy. In a letter dated July lo, 
1775, he writes to the Continental Congress thus : 

* General Orders printed in the Proceedings of the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society, vol. XV., p. 114. 



248 Israel Putnam [1775- 

" I am sorry to observe that the Appointments of the General 
Officers in the Province of Massachusetts Bay have by no Means 
corresponded with the Judgement and "Wishes of either the 
civil or Military. The great Dissatisfaction expressed on this 
Subject and the apparent Danger of throwing the Army into 
the utmost Disorder, together with the strong Representations 
of the Provincial Congress, have induced me to retain the Com- 
missions in my Hands untill the Pleasure of the Congress should 
be farther known (except General Puttnam's which was given 
the Day I came into Camp and before I was apprized of these 
Uneasinesses). In such a Step I must beg the Congress will 
do me the Justice I believe, that I have been actuated solely by 
a Regard to the publick Good. I have not, nor could have any 
private Attachments ; every Gentleman in Appointment was an 
entire Stranger to me but from Character. I must therefore 
rely upon the Candor of the Congress for their favorable Con- 
struction of my Conduct in this Particular. General Spencer 
was so much disgusted at the preference given to General Putt- 
nam that he left the Army without visiting me, or making 
known his Intentions in any respect." * 

Silas Deane, the Connecticut delegate, who heard 
these words of Washington read before the Congress 
at Philadelphia, says, in a letter written soon after- 
wards, that the members greatly disapproved of Spen- 
cer's conduct. The same writer was elated by the 
honour won for his colony and the country by the 
" brave intrepidity of old General Putnam " on " whom 
by every account the whole Army has depended ever 
since the L^exington battle," and who was now pro- 
moted to the rank of Major-General. With high pride 
Deane penned : 

" Putnam's merit rung through this Continent ; his fame still 
increases, — and every day justifies the unanimous applause of 



* Writings of George Washington, ed. by W. C. Ford, vol. 
iii., p. 14. 




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Before W(^^-- ' 



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GENERAL PUTNAM'S OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. 



1776] Besieging Boston 249 

the continent. Let it be remembered, he had every vote of the 
Congress ; and his health has been the second or third at 
almost all our tables in this city. But it seems that he does 
not wear a large wig, nor screw his countenance into a form 
that belies the sentiments of his generous soul ; he is no adept 
either at political or religious canting and cozening ; he is no 
shake-hand body ; he therefore is totally unfit for everything 
but fighting; that department I never heard that these in- 
triguing gentry wanted to interfere with him in. I have scarce 
any patience. O Heaven ! blast, I implore thee, every such 
low, narrow, selfish, envious manoeuvre in the land, nor let one 
such succeed far enough to stain the fair page of American 
patriotic politics." * 

The principal officers at Cambridge had little sym- 
pathy for Spencer, as appears in a letter by Deane's 
step-son, Lieutenant Samuel B. Webb : 

"You'll find the Generals Washington and Lee [Charles 
Lee had accompanied Washington from Philadelphia to Cam- 
bridge] are vastly fonder and think higher of Putnam than any 
man in the army ; and he truly is the Hero of the day." 

"I find," continues Webb to Deane, "the intention of Spen- 
cer was to get our [Connecticut] Assembly to remonstrate to 
the Continental Congress and beg a re-appointment ; but little 
did he think that this could not be done without cashiering 
Putnam, — as he is in possession of his commission ; and better 
for us to lose four Spencers than half a Putnam." f 

The affair with Spencer was finally settled by his 
consenting to return to the army and to take rank 
after Putnam. 

During nearly the whole of July, Putnam continued 



* Deane Papers in Collections of the Connecticut Historical 
Society, vol. ii. ; Collections of the New York Historical Society, 
vol. xix. 

t Correspondeftce and Journals of Samuel Blachley Webb, 
ed. by W. C. Ford, vol. i. 



250 Israel Putnam [1775- 

in chief command of the troops at Prospect Hill. 
Several characteristic incidents are Said to have 
occurred here. One day, having summoned all his 
captains to headquarters, Putnam announced that he 
wished one from their number to take charge of a secret 
and hazardous undertaking. Captain Foster, of Mans- 
field's Massachusetts regiment, " after waiting a short 
time for his seniors to have an opportunity to offer 
their services," stepped forward, eager to signalise 
himself. Six or eight men were drafted from each com- 
pany, and at the appointed time the party, fully armed 
and equipped, appeared before Putnam's tent for further 
orders. The bluff old General came out and reviewed 
them in due form. He commended their spirit and 
good appearance and then, much to their surprise, 
ordered them to lay aside their arms and equipments, 
provide themselves with axes, and go into a neighbour- 
ing swamp and cut a quantity of fascines which they 
were to bring in upon their shoulders. And so these 
men, who had "expected to gain honour by their cheer- 
ful exposure to unknown dangers and hardships," 
found — in the concluding words of William Cutter, the 
narrator of this story of the good-natured and fun-lov- 
ing commander — that " their greatest danger was 
from the attacks of the musquitoes, and their greatest 
exposure was to the mirth of their fellow-soldiers." 

Another incident is told by the same writer. It ap- 
pears that Putnam, whose experiences in the French 
and Indian War had made him an adept in handling 
boats, undertook to train in person some of the men for 
the management of the numerous craft which were kept 
in readiness in the Charles River preparatory to a possi- 
ble attack on Boston. On a certain day, when the men 
were at practice, manoeuvring under his direction, a 



FAC-SIMILE OF LETTER WRITTEN BY GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM. 






1776] Besieging Boston 251 

smaller boat, the occupants of which were either heed- 
less of orders or unskilful in rowing, ran athwart the 
course of the one in which Putnam was. In order to 
teach a much-needed lesson, he did not change his 
course or attempt to check his speed, but, as the story 
goes, 

" ran the disorderly shallop down, staving in her side, and 
tumbling her whole crew into the water. Having completed 
the movement he had ordered, the delinquents were all care- 
fully picked up, and cautioned to be, for the future, more 
attentive to the word of command." 

A day of special interest at Prospect Hill was Tues- 
day, July i8th, the date of the first flag-raising of the 
American Revolution. The occasion was the reading 
of the declaration which the Continental Congress had 
recently adopted, " setting forth the causes and neces- 
sity of their taking up arms." The troops at Cam- 
bridge had been paraded, three days before, to listen 
to this manifesto, and now a morning was set apart that 
it might be read to Putnam's division of the army. 
There are several contemporaneous allusions to the 
event. This account was published in the Essex Gazette 
of July 19, 1775 : 

"Yesterday morning according to orders issued the day be- 
fore by Major-General Putnam, all the Continental troops 
under his immediate command assembled on Prospect Hill, 
when the declaration of the Continental Congress was read, 
after which an animated and pathetic address to the army was 
made by the Reverend Mr. Leonard, chaplain to General Put- 
nam's regiment, and succeeded by a pertinent prayer ; then 
General Putnam gave the signal, and the whole army shouted 
their loud Amen by three cheers; upon which a cannon was 
fired from the fort, and the standard lately sent to General 
Putnam was exhibited, flourishing in the air, bearing on one 



252 Israel Putnam [1775- 

side this motto, " An Appeal to Heaven," and on the other 
side, " Qui Transtulit Sustinet." The whole was conducted 
with the utmost decency, good order and regularity and to the 
universal acceptance of all present. And the Philistines on 
Bunker's Hill heard the shout of the Israelites and, being very 
fearful, paraded themselves in battle array." 

The scarlet standard with its letters and armourial 
bearings in gold was called Putnam's flag, being the 
one which the General Assembly of Connecticut had 
ordered for the 3rd Regiment of the colony. Wash- 
ington is said to have acted as presenter at this unfurling 
on Prospect Hill. Captain James Dana, who was 
chosen to receive the flag and to display it, was warned 
"that in so doing he must not let the colours fall, as that 
would be deemed ominous of the fall of America."* It 
is further related that the great six-foot captain, who 
could face a hostile army without flinching, shrank 
like a child from this display and fain would have de- 
clined the honour, but Putnam cheered him on by blunt 
words of humour and a friendly clap on the shoulder ; 
whereupon Captain Dana advanced and received the 
flag from Washington's aide and carried it three times 
around the interior circle of the parade amid great 
applause by the soldiers. 

Washington, from the time of his arrival at Cam- 
bridge, had devoted solicitous attention not only to 
strengthening the defences, but also to reorganising 
the army. By a new arrangement, which dated from 
July 22, 1755, the soldiers from the same colony, as far 
as practicable, were brought together. The right 
wing of the army was placed under the command of 
General Ward, who accordingly removed his head- 



* Lamed, History of Windham County, Conn., vol. ii. 



1776] Besieging Boston 253 

quarters from Cambridge to Roxbury, where he had 
under him Brigadier-Generals Thomas and Spencer. 
The left wing of the army was assigned to General Lee. 
This division consisted of two brigades, the one at 
Prospect Hill being put under Brigadier-General 
Greene, and the other at Winter Hill under Brigadier- 
General Sullivan. Putnam himself was transferred 
from Prospect Hill to the command of the centre division 
at Cambridge, and, like Ward and Lee, had two bri- 
gades, or twelve regiments, under him. 

Putnam's two aides-de-camp, appointed at this time, 
were his eldest son, Israel, and young Samuel B. Webb. 
Said the latter, when writing to his step-father, Silas 
Deane, through whose influence the appointment had 
been obtained : 

" General Putnam is a man highly esteemed with us. . . . 
Since which [appointment as Aide to Putnam] I have had the 
offer of being a Brigade Major from General Gates. They are 
both Honorable and agreeable posts. I shall for the present 
remain with General Putnam." 

As aide to Putnam, Webb wrote nearly all the letters 
that went out with the General's signature. 

The men who, by the new arrangement of the army 
in July, belonged to the brigades under Putnam con- 
sidered themselves very fortunate, for it has not been 
too strongly asserted by Worthington Chauncey Ford 
that 

" at this time the opportunity of serving under ' Old Put ' was 
something to be desired. He was the most popular of the com- 
manding officers. His bluff and hearty ways were better suited 
to win the confidence of the newly-formed army than the cold 
and distant manners of the other generals. The soldiers could 
appreciate Putnam and he was the toast of the camp." 



2 54 Israel Putnam [1775- 

The Inman house, which had not been occupied since 
the family of the loyalist Ralph Inman left it on the 
night after the battle of Bunker Hill, now became the 
new headquarters of Putnam. " It could not have 
been better situated in a military view," truly remarks 
the antiquarian Drake, in telling the story of this his- 
toric house, " for Old Put's residence." 

" The General's own regiment," he continues, " and most of 
the Connecticut troops lay encamped near at hand in Inman's 
green fields and fragrant pine woods. It was but a short gallop 
to the commander-in-chief's, or to the posts on the river. Re- 
move all the houses that now intervene between Inman Street 
and the Charles, and we see that the gallant old man had 
crouched as near the enemy as it was possible for him to do, 
and lay like a watch-dog at the door of the American lines." * 

But Putnam's vigilance lest the British troops should 
make an aggressive movement, and his strenuous devo- 
tion ta the American cause, did not obliterate his per- 
sonal attachment to some of the King's officers, who 
had been his comrades in the war with the French and 
Indians. He gladly welcomed, therefore, the oppor- 
tunity, soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, for an 
interview with Major Small on the lines between the 
Charlestown Heights and Prospect Hill. It appears 
that this meeting, under a flag of truce, was brought 
about by the urgent request of Small, who wished to 
express personally to his old friend his deep gratitude 
for that timely interference which had saved his life in 
the recent engagement. 

The effects of the siege soon began to be felt in 
B'oston, for the royal soldiers, owing to the limited 



* S. A. Drake, Historic Mansions and Highways Around 
Boston. 



1776] Besieging Boston 255 

supply of other provisions, were compelled to live 
almost exclusively on salt pork and fish. Even the 
sick and wounded were subjected to this unhygienic 
diet. Reports of the extremity in town having reached 
the Cambridge camp, Putnam, in sympathy for the suf- 
ferers, both regular and Provincial, sent supplies at 
once to some of the British officers as well as to the 
American prisoners. The following note was dated 
August 8th : 

" General Putnam's compliments to his old friend Major 
Moncrieffe. Is sorry he could not sooner send him some of the 
comforts of life. He now sends him (through the hands of 
Major Bruce) some mutton, beef, and fresh butter, which he 
begs his acceptance of, with a hearty welcome." * 

A British officer in Boston wrote to his father in 
London, thus : 

" Why should I complain of hard fate? General Gage and 
all his family have for this month past lived upon salt pro- 
visions. L,ast Saturday General Putnam, in the true style of 
military complaisance, which abolishes all personal resentment 
and smooths the horrors of war when discipline will permit, 
sent a present to the General's lady of a fine fresh quarter of 
veal, which was very acceptable, and received the return of a 
very polite card of thanks." f 

Not yet was a revolution involving separation from 
the mother country thought of by the mass of American 
colonists. The members of the Continental Congress 
had expressly declared, "We mean not to dissolve that 
union which has so long and so happily subsisted be- 
tween us." It has been truly said of the majority of 



* Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. 
xiv., p. 269. 

t Extract from a L,ondou paper, quoted in Frank Moore's 
Diary of the American Revolution, vol. i., p. 136. 



256 Israel Putnam [1775- 

partiotic leaders that the most they hoped for was 
that, by offering a stout resistance to an enforcement of 
the ministerial policy, they could compel a change in 
that policy and enjoy all that they demanded under the 
English constitution. Putnam had a different opinion 
in regard to the matter, as his son Daniel interest- 
ingly states : 

"Without any wish for ' reconciliatiou,' he [Putnam] be- 
lieved that Britain would persevere iu her demands, and that 
America had no alternative but submission or a long, protracted 
resistance. In support of this remark I beg leave to relate an 
anecdote of which I was myself a witness. 

"From the arrival of Washington at Cambridge till the 
enemy left Boston, his and Putnam's military families were 
not only on the most friendly terms, but their intercourse was 
very frequent. Not a week passed but they dined together at 
the quarters of one or the other. One day in the month of 
September, [1775,] Genl. Washington at his table gave for a 
toast, — 'A speedy and honourable peace,' and all appeared to 
join with good will in the sentiment. Not many days after, 
at Putnam's quarters, addressing himself to Washington, he 
said, — 'Your Excellency the other day gave us " a speedy and 
honourable peace," and I, as in duty bound, drank it ; and now, 
I hope, Sir, you will not think it an act of insubordination if I 
ask you to drink one of rather a different character : I will 
give you. Sir, " A long and a moderate war." ' It has been truly 
said of Washington that he seldom smiled and almost never 
laughed, but the sober and sententious manner in which Put- 
nam delivered his sentiment, and its seeming contradiction to 
all his practice, came so unexpectedly on Washington that he 
did laugh more heartily than I ever remember to have seen him 
before or after ; but presently he said, ' You are the last man, 
Genl. Putnam, from whom I should have expected such a toast, 
you who are all the time urging vigorous measures, to plead 
now for a lotig, and what is still more extraordinary, a moderate, 
war, seems strange indeed.' Putnam replied that the measures 
he advised were calculated to prevent, not hasten, a peace 



1776] Besieging Boston 257 

which would be only a rotteu thing and last uo longer than it 
divided us. 'I expected nothing' [said Putnam] 'but a lofig 
war, and I would have it a moderate one, that we may hold 
out till the mother country becomes willing to cast us off for- 
ever.' Washington did not soon forget this toast; for years 
after, and more than once, he reminded Putnam of it." 

The limited stipply of cannon and ammunition and 
tlie undisciplined condition of the army compelled 
Washington, despite his desire to drive the enemj' from 
Boston by " some decisive stroke," to pursue in the 
autumn, as in the summer, an inactive, defensive 
policy. At this period of the siege, Mrs. Putnam 
made the journey from Connecticut to visit her hus- 
band, and she vi^as still in Cambridge, later in 1775, at 
the time of the arrival of Mrs. Washington, who was 
accompanied by Mrs. Gates, wife of Adjutant-General 
Horatio Gates, and by other companions. The pre- 
sence of the ladies gladdened the hearts of their hus- 
bands in the gloomy monotony of camp life. In the 
frequent interchange of hospitalities, Mrs. Putnam was 
a most cordial hostess at the Inman house. The 
Inman family coach, which had been standing idle 
since the loyalist owner fled to Boston, leaving the 
stable provided with horses and handsome equipages, 
was now ordered out by Putnam for his wife's use in 
making calls and taking drives into the country. Cer- 
tain Cambridge authorities, claiming that such appro- 
priation of confiscated property was unwarranted, had 
the presumption, on one occasion when Mrs. Putnam 
was at a distance from home, to compel her to alight 
from the carriage. The General was " not of a temper 
to submit very meekly to such an affront,"* and on 

* New England Historical attd Genealogical Register, vol. 
XXV., July, 1871, p. 232. 



258 Israel Putnam [1775- 

learning of the ungallant treatment which his wife had 
received, gave vent to his indignation in English more 
forceful than elegant. In reply to his remonstrance, 
the offenders afterwards wrote : 

" Nothing was ever aimed at treating you or yours unbecom- 
ing the many obligations that we are under for the extraordinar)' 
services you have done to this town [Cambridge] which must 
always be acknowledged with the highest gratitude, not only 
by us, but by rising generations." * 

The Atnerican camp and colonies were thrown into 
much excitement in October by the discovery of the 
treason of Dr. Benjamin Church, surgeon-general of 
the military hospital, who had borne the character of a 
distinguished patriot. For several weeks he had car- 
ried on a secret correspondence with the enemy, but 
finally a letter in cipher, which he intended to be de- 
livered to the commander of a British war-vessel in 
Newport Harbour, was intercepted. A woman who 
had acted as bearer of the letter part of the way re- 
ttirned to Cambridge, supposing that she had entrusted 
it to safe hands. No sooner was she suspected of 
being a spy than Putnam himself undertook her arrest. 
Tradition tells how Washington was looking from the 
chamber of his headquarters at the Craigie house when 
he beheld the General approaching in great speed on 
horseback with the stout lady en croupe behind him. 
Not even the Commander-in-chief could keep from 
laughing at the ludicrous sight presented by the sturdy 
" Wolf-hunter " and his prize; and he hardly had time 
to recover his gravity before the front door was thrown 
open and the culprit was made to enter the hall by the 
strong arm of her escort. From the head of the broad 



* Letter dated June i8, 1776. 



1776] Besieging Boston 259 

staircase, Washington, in as stern a tone as he could 
assume, warned her that nothing but a full confession 
could save her from a halter. She told in detail the 
story of Dr. Church's treachery ; and he was forthwith 
arrested, tried, and imprisoned. 

For the winter campaign a reorganisation of the 
army was imperative, for the terms of enlistment of 
many of the soldiers would expire in December or at 
the beginning of the new year. A committee of three, 
— Dr. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Col. Benja- 
min Harrison of Virginia, and the Hon. Thomas Lynch 
of South Carolina, — whom the Continental Congress 
had appointed to consult in person with Washington 
and his generals as well as with delegates from New 
England colonies in relation to the " continuance and 
new-modelling" of the army, arrived in the Cam- 
bridge camp on October 15th. Putnam now met some 
of the foremost patriots of the time. We can well 
imagine what hearty greeting he gave the distin- 
guished visitors ; and they must have found great 
pleasure in becoming personally acquainted with the 
hero whose services to the country had already won 
for him a high place in their esteem. 

To the American camp came also in October the Rev. 
Jeremy Belknap, pastor of the First Parish in Dover, 
N. H., who has left some interesting notes of his visit 
to the several generals. Under date of October 19th, 
there is this entry in his journal : * 

"After dining with General Ward [at Roxbury], I returned 
to Cambridge. In the evening, visited and conversed with 
General Putnam. Ward appears to be a calm, cool, and 
thoughtful man ; Putnam a rough fiery genius." 

* Belknap's journal is printed in the Proceedings of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society, vol. iv. 



26o Israel Putnam [1775- 

On October 20th, Pastor Belknap, in characterising 
lyce, mentions Putnam again : 

"General Lee is a perfect original, a good scholar and 
soldier, and an odd genius ; full of fire and passion and but little 
good manners ; a great sloven, wretchedly profane, and a great 
admirer of dogs of which he had two at dinner with him, one 
of them a native of Pomerania which I should have taken for a 
bear had I seen him in the woods. 

"A letter which he wrote General Putnam yesterday is a 
copy of his odd mind. It is, as nearly as I can recollect, as 
follows, being a letter of introduction of one Page, a Church 
clergyman : — 

" ' H0BGOBI.IN Hai<i., Oct, 19, 1775. 

" ' Dear General,— Mr. Page, the bearer of this, is a Mr. 
Page. He has the laudable ambition of seeing the great General 
Putnam. I therefore desire you would array yourself in all 
your majesty and terrors for his reception. Your blue and 
gold must be mounted, your pistols stuck in your girdle ; and 
it would not be amiss if you should black one half of your face. 

" ' I am dear general, with fear and trembling, your humble 
servant, 

" ' Charles LEE.' " 

The letter which Belknap quotes must have seemed 
harmless drollery to the bearer, but it was doubtless in- 
tended to convey to the quick-witted Putnam a covert 
warning that he should be on his guard against the 
Rev. Mr. Page, who was suspected of being a spy. 
Certainly, in ending the letter, lyce took an original 
way of telling Putnam to " keep dark " in the presence 
of his visitor. 

As the days passed away, the Revolutionary leaders 
guarded more assiduously than ever against an advance 
of the King's troops from Boston. Meanwhile, across 
the ocean, the debates in the English Parliament waxed 



1776] Besieging Boston 261 

warm over the necessity of asserting the royal prerog- 
ative by an active campaign in America. Edmund 
Burke, the eloquent champion of the colonies, sarcasti- 
cally rebuked his fellow-Commoners who extolled the 
strength of the British force in Boston. Having men- 
tioned the American generals, Washington, Lee, and 
Putnam by name, he exclaimed in Parliament: " These 
men know much more of your army than your return 
can give them. They coop it up, besiege it, destroy 
it, crush it! Your officers are swept off by the rifles 
if they show their noses! " * 

Although the marauding parties which the British 
occasionally sent out from Boston were quickly driven 
back into the town by the besiegers, Washington took 
added precautions in November against a general attack 
on his lines, for after the cold weather set in there was 
the possibility that the enemy would make approaches 
on the ice. A strong detachment under Putnam was 
accordingly ordered, on the night of the 23rd, to break 
ground at Cobble Hill. The men laboured until dawn 
and then retired without having received a single shot 
from Bunker Hill or the floating batteries. An in- 
trenching party, which General Heath commanded, 
continued the works on the following night and was 
also unmolested. In fact, the Cobble Hill fortification 
was finished early in December " without the least in- 
terruption from the enemy," The New England 
CJn'onicle or Essex Gazette, in its issue of December 14, 
1775, said of this stronghold : 

"It is allowed to be the most perfect piece of fortificatiou 
that the American army has constructed during the present 
campaign, and on the day of its completion was named Put- 
nam's impregnable fortress." 

* Force, American Archives, Fourth Series, vol. vi., p. 100. 



262 Israel Putnam [1775- 

A writer in SilUnian'' s Journal \\\ 1822, in comment- 
ing on this appellation, " impregnable fortress," truly 
remarks: 

" Every fort which was defended by that General [Putnam] 
might be considered as impregnable, if daring courage and 
intrepidity could always resist superior force." 

For the defence of the different American posts, ad- 
ditional cannon and ammunition were sorely needed. 
This crying want was supplied, in part, by the fortun- 
ate capture of several British warships. On board the 
ordnance-brig Nancy, which Captain Manly, command- 
er of the American armed schooner Lee, compelled to 
surrender, was a large and valuable assortment of mili- 
tary stores. These trophies, including a thirteen-inch 
brass mortar, which weighed nearly three thousand 
pounds, were carried to Cambridge. There the mortar 
was placed in front of the laboratory on the Common, 
and the popular and unconventional Putnam took a 
leadingpart in the jubilation. Colonel Stephen Moylan, 
in describing the happy occasion, wrote to Colonel 
Joseph Reed on Monday, December 5th: 

" I would have given a good deal that you was here [Cam- 
bridge] last Saturday when the stores arrived at camp ; such 
universal joy ran through the whole as if each grasped victory 
in his hand ; to crown the glorious scene there intervened one 
truly ludicrous, which was Old Put mounted on the large mortar 
which was fixed in its bed for the occasion, with a bottle of rum 
in his hand, standing parson to christen, while godfather 
Mifflin, [Quartermaster General Thomas Mifflin] gave it the 
name of Congress. The huzzas on the occasion 1 dare sa}- were 
heard through all the territories of our most gracious sovereign 
in this Province." * 



* Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed, by W. B. Reed, 
vol. i., p. 133. 



1776] Besieging Boston 263 

Strong works were planned for construction at Ivcch- 
mere's Point, and thither Putnam went, on the morning 
of December 17th, with three or four hundred men to 
break ground near the waterside within half a mile of 
a British man-of-war. 

" The mist," saj's a contemporaneous narrator of the expedi- 
tion, " was so great as to prevent the enemy from discovering 
what he [Putnam] was about, until twelve, when it cleared up, 
and opened to their view our whole party at the point, and 
another at the causeway, throwing a new bridge over the creek 
that forms the Island at high water. The Scarborough ship-of- 
war which lay off the point, immediately poured in upon our 
men a broadside. The enemy, from Boston, threw many 
shells, and obliged us to decamp from the point, with two men 
badly wounded. The bridge, however, was ordered to be 
raised by the brave old General, and was completed. The 
garrison of Cobble Hill were ordered to return the ship's fire ; 
which they did, and soon obliged her to heave tight upon her 
springs, and to cease firing. But the battery in New-Boston 
kept up the fire of shells till twelve o'clock that night. Our 
party at the point renewed their work in the evening, and con- 
tinued it all night. This morning [December 18], at day-light, 
by a signal of two rockets from Boston, the Scarborough 
weighed anchor, and has left the point clear." * 

Although the spadesmen, after resuming work, were 
exposed to a renewed discharge of shot and shells from 
the enemy's land batteries, they kept steadily at their 
task. Most of the intrenching, during several succes- 
sive days, was done under the immediate direction of 
General Heath, for Putnam's duties required his pre- 
sence elsewhere a part of the time. The latter, however, 
made frequent visits to Lechmere's Point to inspect the 
progress of the work. It appears that Putnam's eldest 



* Force, American Archives^ Fourth Series, vol. iv., p. 313. 



264 Israel Putnam [1775- 

soii was assigned to the command of a squad of the 
workmen here. Cutter* relates this incident : 

" As some of his [Captain Israel Putnam, Jr.] men were one 
day reclining upon the greensward, taking some refreshments, 
the General [Putnam] coming along, cried out — ' Up in a mo- 
ment, or you are all dead men ! ' They started up at the word, 
and hastened to their work. No sooner had they cleared the 
way, than a ball from the enemy ploughed the ground where 
they had been lying, and buried itself deep in the earth. It 
was thus necessary to keep a watchful eye to the side of the 
enemy and to labour in a constant expectation of an iron 
mandate to abandon the work." 

In December some of the Connecticut troops caused 
much trouble in camp by their " extraordinary and 
reprehensible conduct." Those whose time of enlist- 
ment expired the first of that month were very uneasy 
to leave for home, and some of them did so, contrary to 
Washington's orders for them to stay in the service a 
little longer until a suflficient number of the militia- 
men of Massachusetts and New Hampshire could be 
called in to supply their place. 

The mutinous men met, however, with a prompt re- 
buke from the patriotic people of their own colony. 
Indeed, so severely were the deserters condemned in 
Connecticut that some of them decided to return to 
Cambridge. Putnam's tactful talks with the men did 
much towards qtielling the mtitiny, and in this work 
of restoring peace he found an efficient helper in an 
old comrade of the French and Indian War, Colonel 
Henry Babcock of Rhode Island. 

* This biographer of Putnam errs in placing the incident at 
Cobble Hill. The British fired no cannon at the fortification 
there, from the time it was begun until it was finished. The 
narrow escape of the men, which he mentions, seems to have 
occurred at lycchmere's Point. 



17761 Besieging Boston 265 

When the reorganised Continental army began its 
new term on January i, 1776, great confusion neces- 
sarily existed on account of the changes which had 
taken place in the ranks. This critical period was at 
length successfully passed, but the January thaws and 
the scanty supply of arms and ammunition prevented 
Washington from making a general assault on the 
British force. Putnam was even more anxious than 
the Commander-in-chief to expel the enemy from Bos- 
ton ; and in preparation for bombarding the town his 
clever resourcefulness was employed in increasing the 
stock of cannon-balls. His ' ' ingenious invention ' ' for 
accomplishing this object is described in the old news- 
paper, the Constitutional Gazette : 

"He [General Putnam] ordered parties, consisting of about 
two or three of bis men, to show themselves at the top of a 
certain saudy hill, in sight of the King's schooner, Somerset, in 
Boston harbour, but at a great distance, in hopes that the cap- 
tain would be fool enough to fire at them. It had the desired 
effect, and so heavy a fire ensued from this ship and others, 
that the country around Boston thought the town was attacked. 
By this he obtained several hundred balls which were easily 
taken out of the sand." 

The scarcity of powder caused Putnam greater solici- 
tude than ever. Said Colonel Moylan to Colonel Reed 
in a letter from Cambridge in January : 

" The bay is open ; everything thaws here except Old Put. 
He is still as hard as ever, crying out for powder — powder, — 
ye gods, give us powder ! " 

Although no general assault against the British could 
be undertaken, several enterprises were planned in 
order to annoy the enemy. On the evening of January 
8th, Putnam sent Major Knowlton, with about two 



266 Israel Putnam [1775- 

hundred men, to set fire in Charlestown to some houses 
which had not been destroyed by the conflagration on 
the day of the battle of Banker Hill, and to bring off 
the guard stationed in them. General Putnam and his 
staff, who were spectators of the affair from Cobble - 
Hill, were much amused by the alarm of the British 
garrison on Bunker Hill on discovering the flames of 
the burning buildings. 

" The flashing of the musketry," sa}'s a member of Putnam's 
staff, "from every quarter of that fort, showed the confusion 
of its defenders, — firing, some in the air, some in the Mystic 
river ; in short, they fired at random, and thought they were 
attacked at every quarter, which, you may suppose, gave no 
small pleasure to the General [Putnam] and a number of us who 
were spectators of the scene from Cobble Hill. Ten of the 
houses were soon in ashes. The sergeant and four of the men, 
with one woman, were brought off prisoners." * 

Towards the last of January, the alarming news of 
reverses in Canada reached Cambridge. General Rich- 
ard Montgomery, after capturing Montreal, had joined 
Colonel Benedict Arnold, who, with a detachment of 
the army around Boston, had made a terrible march 
through the wilderness of Maine to the St. lyawrence 
River. The united forces attacked Quebec, but suf- 
fered a disastrous repulse. Montgomery was killed, 
and, on account of the strength of the British, there 
were grave apprehensions that Canada must be relin- 
quished. In this critical state of affairs, the Contin- 
ental Congress urged Washington to send a general 
to take the chief command of the American troops in 
Canada ; for General Philip Schuyler at. Albany, who 
was in charge of the Northern campaign, thought of 

* Letter dated January 9, 1776, printed in the Proceedings of 
the Massachtisetis Historical Society, vol. xiv., p. 276. 



1776] Besieging Boston 267 

resigning. Washington's reply to Congress, dated 
January 30, 1775, contains a reference to Putnam which 
shows us his estimate of that officer : 



"I wish it was in my power," writes Washington, "to fur- 
nish Congress with such a general as they desire to send to 
Canada. Since the unhappy reverse of our affairs in that quar- 
ter. General Schuyler has informed me, that, though he had 
thoughts of declining the service before, he would now act, 
. . . General Putnam is a most valuable man and a fine 
executive officer ; but I do not know how he would conduct in 
a separate department. He is a younger major-general than 
Mr. Schuyler, who, as I have observed, having determined to 
continue in the service, will, I expect, repair into Canada." 

At Cambridge, where Putnam was, after all, retained, 
affairs took a favourable turn in February. The weeks 
of enforced inactivity of the arm}' beleaguering Boston 
seemed about to end, for not only had additional regi- 
ments of militiamen arrived in camp, but large supplies 
of ammunition, which the different colonies sent, had 
been received. Offensive measures were, moreover, 
made possible b}' the remarkable energy of Colonel 
Henry Knox, who, 

"with an enterprise and perseverance that elicited the warmest 
commendations, had brought from Crown Point and Ticonde- 
rdga, over frozen lakes and almost impassable snows, more 
than fifty cannon, mortars, and howitzers." 

It was now determined to take possession of Dorches- 
ter Heights in order to bring on a general action or to 
force the enemy from Boston. Preparatory steps were 
accordingly taken to fortify this position, which would 
command " a great part of the town and almost the 



268 Israel Putnam [1775- 

whole harbour." Captain John Chester, in a letter 
dated February 13th, writes : * 

"Yesterday the Generals went on to Dorchester Hill & Point 
to view & plan out the works to be done there, Knox and Grid- 
ley were with them. . . . Gen. Putnam says Gridley laid 
out works enough for our whole army for two years if the frost 
was to continue in that time & in short thinks we cannot do 
much to purpose there while the frost is in y'= ground." 

Chester tells of the needless alarm of members of the 
party at Dorchester, and how Putnam cooll}^ gave 
kindly assistance to the lame engineer while the others 
were fleeing for their lives : 

"Something droll Happen'd as they were on the Point & 
within call of the Enemy. They observed two officers on full 
speed on Horses from the Old to the New lines & concluded 
they were about to order the Artillery levelled at them. Just 
that instant they observed a fellow Deserting from us to them. 
This set 'em all a-running & Scampering for life except the 
lame Col. Gridley & Putnam, who never runs & tarried to wait 
on Gridley. They had left their Horses half a mile back & 
fear'd the enemy might attempt to encompass them." 

In the same letter, Chester mentions Putnam's recent 
narrow escape at Cambridge from a musket-ball : 

"Sunday night [February 11] as Putnam was passing by 
[Harvard] Colledge and on the west side the street, a Gentry 
hailed from the far part of the Colledge Yard. He could not 
think he called to him as he had y' moment pass"* one & given 
y'^ Cor'' [correct] Sign & was just that minute hailed by another. 
However the Centry in y*^ Yard not finding an answer up & 
fired as direct as he could at the Genl which providentially 
escaped him tho' he heard the ball whistle." 



* Original letter printed in the Magazuie of American 
History, vol. viii., p. 127. 



1776] Besieging Boston 269 

The difficulties which, on account of frozen ground, 
beset the execution of plans for fortifjnng Dorchester 
Heights were finally overcome by the ingenuity of 
Rufus Putnam, Israel's kinsman, who was lieutenant- 
colonel in Brewer's Massachusetts regiment, and who 
had been actively and efficiently employed in laying 
out defences around Boston. This officer, of marked 
ability for engineering, who had attracted Washing- 
ton's special attention, proposed that "chandeliers" 
be erected on Dorchester Heights. These were de- 
fences made of stout timbers, ten feet long, into which 
were framed posts five feet high and five feet apart, 
placed on the ground in parallel lines and the open 
spaces filled in with bundles of fascines, strongly 
picketed together, thus forming a moveable parapet of 
wood instead of earth. The plan for the " chan- 
deliers " was at once adopted. 

On Saturday night, March 2, 1776, Boston was 
bombarded from Cobble Hill, Lechmere's Point, and 
Lamb's Dam, Roxbury. The cannonade was con- 
tinued on three successive nights ; and, while the 
attention of the British was occupied by it, the Ameri- 
cans made extensive preparations to take possession of 
Dorchester Heights. On Monday night, March 4th, 
General Thomas, with two thousand men, marched 
thither to begin the fortifications. By four o'clock on 
Tuesday morning two forts were sufficiently advanced 
in construction to offer good protection against small 
arms and grape-shot. So extensive and formidable 
did the " rebel defences" appear, that General Howe 
believed that he must either evacuate Boston or drive 
the Americans from their new position. Having de- 
cided, for the sake of British honour, to attempt the 
latter alternative, he ordered twenty-four hundred, 



270 Israel Putnam [1775- 

men, under Earl Percy, to embark in transports, ren- 
dezvous at Castle William, and attack the newly raised 
fortifications. 

The movements of the enemy vv^ere watched with in- 
tense interest by the Americans. While the defenders 
of the Dorchester Heights awaited the coming of the 
British, four thousand men belonging to the best-dis- 
ciplined part of the American army were under parade 
at Cambridge, in the vicinity of Fort No. 2. It 
was intended that this fine detachment, which General 
Putnam commanded, should make the long-proposed 
attack on Boston. 

This plan to capture Boston while the main body of 
British troops was attacking Dorchester Heights had 
been decided upon at a Council of War which was held 
at Washington's headquarters about the first day of 
March. Cutter says that when the project was under 
discussion on that occasion, 

"Geueral Putnam, who was always restless, and more dis- 
posed to action than to deliberation, was continually going to 
the door and the windows to see what was passing without. 
At length General Washington said to him with some earnest- 
ness, 'Sit down. General Putnam, we must have your advice 
and counsel in this matter, where the responsibilit}' of its exe- 
cution is devolved upon you.' 'Oh, my dear General,' he 
replied, ' you may plan the battle to suit yourself, and I will 
fight it.' " 

But the four thousand picked men who, on March 
5th, were " headed," as Washington wrote Colonel 
Reed, " by Old Put," and who stood ready to make a 
descent upon the north side of Boston as soon as the Dor- 
chester Heights should be assailed by the enemy, did 
not have the opportunity of advancing into the town. 
Such a high wind and furious surf arose in the after- 



1776] Besieging Boston 271 

noon that the British General Howe found it impossible 
to assault the works on the Heights, and, after several 
days of further delay on account of boisterous weather 
and heav}' rains, he was obliged to abandon his plan. 
Meanwhile the Americans strengthened their defences 
and pushed their batteries nearer Boston on the Dor- 
chester side. The possession of Nook's Hill, in ac- 
cordance with the decision of a Council of War which 
was held, March 13th, at General Ward's quarters in 
Roxbury, and at which Putnam was present, placed the 
British entirely at the mercy of the besiegers. The 
roar of cannon and mortars taught Howe the necessity 
of increased expedition in his preparations for leaving 
Boston, and, on the morning of March 17th, it was 
discovered that he had begun to embark his troops. 
The following account of the evacuation, published in 
the Pennsylvania Evening Post, March 30, 1776, is one 
of the best original sources of information in regard to 
the events of this memorable Sunday : 

" March 17. This morning the British army in Boston, under 
General Howe, consisting of upwards of seven thousand men, 
after suffering an ignominious blockade for many months past, 
disgracefully quitted all their strongholds in Boston and Charles- 
town, fled from before the army of the United Colonies, and 
took refuge on board their ships. The most material particu- 
lars of this signal event are as follows : About nine o'clock a 
body of the regulars were seen to march from Bunker's Hill, 
and at the same time a very great number of boats, filled with 
troops, put off from Boston and made for the shipping, which 
lay chiefly below the Castle [William]. On the discovery of 
these movements, the continental army paraded ; several regi- 
ments embarked in boats and proceeded down the river from 
Cambridge. About the same time two men were sent to Bun- 
ker's Hill in order to make discoveries. They proceeded 
accordingly and, when arrived, making a signal that the fort 



2 72 Israel Putnam [1775-76] 

was evacuated, a detachment was immediately seut down 
from the army to take possession of it. The troops on the 
river, which were commanded by General Putnam, landed 
at Sewall's Point, where they received intelligence that all the 
British troops had left Boston, on which a detachment was 
sent to take possession of the town, while the main body re- 
turned up the river. About the same time General Ward, 
attended by about five hundred troops from Roxbur^', under 
the command of Colonel Ebenezer Learned, who embarked 
and opened the gates, entered the town on that quarter, Ensign 
Richards carrying the standard. 

"The command of the whole being then given to General 
Putnam, he proceeded to take possession of all the important 
posts, and thereby became possessed, in the name of the Thir- 
teen United Colonies of North America, of all the fortresses in 
that large and once populous and flourishing metropolis, which 
the flower of the British army, headed by an experienced gen- 
eral and supported by a formidable fleet of men-of-war, had, 
but an hour before, evacuated in the most precipitate and cow- 
ardly manner. God grant that the late worthy inhabitants now 
scattered abroad may speedily re-occupy their respective dwell- 
ings, and never more be disturbed by the cruel hand of tyranny ; 
and may the air of that capital be never again contaminated by 
the foul breath of Toryism." 

It was a most hearty welcome that Putnam and his 
men received in Boston from the patriotic citizens ! 




CHAPTER XIX 



FORTIFYING NEW YORK 




SSEESfl 



1776 

FTER the evacuation of Boston the Brit- 
ish sailed a short distance to Nantasket 
Road and there in the outer harbour 
they lingered for ten days. Wash- 
ington was greatly embarrassed by this 
stay of the fleet and suspected that the 
enemy might have " some design of aiming a blow at 
us before they depart." He therefore ordered, "in 
the strongest terms imaginable," certain precautionary 
measures, one of which was this: 

"The General officers in their several departments are to 
take care that proper Alarm posts are assigned every corps, 
that no confusion or disorder may ensue, in case we should be 
called out : In a particular manner Generals Putnam and Sul- 
livan are to attend to those of the Center and I^eft division." * 

But General Howe, instead of attempting to recover 
his lost position, only demolished the fortifications on 
Castle William, and on March 27, 1776, put out to sea 
with the greater part of his force. The commercial 
and strategical importance of New York made Wash- 
ington positive that the enemy were bound for that 

* Orderly Book, 24 March, 1776. 
273 



274 Israel Putnam [1776 

place and he determined to forestall them by forward- 
ing detachments thitherward without delay. He sent 
Putnam to assume the chief command in the city and 
to push forward the fortifications already planned and 
partly executed by General Charles L,ee, who had been 
ordered to go there from Cambridge in January, 1776, 
to begin a defensive system. The change from Boston 
to New York was in many ways a marked one for Put- 
nam. He now came in contact with customs and tradi- 
tions, aristocratic tendencies and conservative forms of 
government that were in decided contrast to the demo- 
cratic inclinations of the New England people. The 
Tories constituted a large proportion of the New York 
population of twenty-six thou.sand, and the bitterness 
of feeling which existed between them and the Revolu- 
tionary party made the position of executive com- 
mander in the city exceedingly difficult. A strong hand 
was needed, in the interests of the patriotic cause, to 
put in operation vigorous precautionary measures 
against disturbance and surprise, to guard the City 
Records and other property, and to maintain a strict 
watch upon the movements of spies and disaffected in- 
habitants.* Putnam was equal to the duties of his 
important trust, as appears from the martial law which 
he at once enforced. 

"General Putnam arrived at New York from the camp at 
Cambridge last Wednesday evening [April 4]," writes Samuel 
Hawke to Job Winslow. "On Friday he issued an order en- 
joining the soldiers to retire to their barracks and quarters at 
tattoo-beat, and to remain their until the reveille is beaten. 



* The General Orders of Putnam, issued at this time, are 
printed in Force's American Archives, Fourth Series, vol. v. 
See also Archives of the State 0/ New York, The RevolutioJi, 
vol. i. 



17761 Fortifying New York 275 

He also desired the inhabitants to observe the same rule, and 
to-day [April 8] he says that it has become absolutely necessary 
that all communication between the fleet* and the shore should 
immediately be stopped, and, for that purpose, has given posi- 
tive orders that the ships shall no longer be furnished with 
provisions. Any inhabitants or others who shall be taken that 
have been on board, near any of the ships, or going on board 
after the publication of the order, will be considered as enemies 
and treated accordingly." 

On the third day after his arrival at New York, Put- 
nam addressed a letter to President John Hancock of 
the Continental Congress, in which he mentioned his 
plans for the protection of the city and gave an account 
of the capture of a boat's crew on Staten Island. On 
the very next night after writing the letter, Putnam 
proceeded to fortify Governor's Island and also Red 
Hook, at the southern end of the Brooklyn peninsula. 
By bringing these two places into line with the series 
of forts which General L,ee, before taking charge of the 
Southern Department in March, had planned, and 
which Lord Stirling, Putnam's immediate predecessor 
in command of New York, had partly constructed on 
both banks of the East River from the " Battery " to 
Hell Gate, it was expected that the passage of that 
river would be made more secure. The guns on the 
Brooklyn Heights and in the new works at Governor's 
Island and at Red Hook, together with those of the re- 
doubts which guarded the southern end of Manhattan 
Island, could menace the British vessels then in New 
York harbour, and the fleet from Boston as soon as it 



* The fleet here referred to was not the one which sailed from 
Boston after the evacuation of that city, but a fleet composed 
of the Duchess of Gordon, Asia, and other British ships, which 
had been in New York harbour several weeks. 



276 Israel Putnam [1776 

arrived. Putnam even hoped to close the North or 
Hudson River to the enemy by batteries at various 
points and by obstructions in the channel. With all 
speed he sent Major Sherburne to the Continental Con- 
gress at Philadelphia for an appropriation of " at least 
three hundred thousand dollars," the army being " in 
the highest need of an immediate supply of cash."* 
The vigilant General urgently entreated the New York 
Committee of Safety for additional regiments to build 
and defend the proposed works, and then, without 
waiting for the arrival of the new levies, he began to 
carr3^ out his aggressive policy by employing such 
troops as were available. Colonel Gold Selleck Silli- 
man of the 4th Regiment of Connecticut Militia 
describes Putnam's seizure of Governor's Island : 

"Tuesday Morning, 9th April [1776] — Last Evening Draughts 
were made from a Number of Regiments here, mine among the 
Rest, to the Amount of 1,000 Men. With these and a proper 
Number of Officers Genl Putnam at Candle lighting embarked 
on Board of a Number of Vessels with a large Number of in- 
trenching Tools and went directly on the Island a little below 
the City called Nutten [Governor's Island], where they have 
been intrenching all Night and are now at work, and have got 
a good Breast Work there raised which will cover them from 
the fire of the Ships ; and it is directly in the Way of the Ship 
coming up to the Town. The Asia has fallen down out of Gun 
Shot from this Place, and it deprives the Ships of the only 
Watering Place they have here without going down toward the 
Hook." t 

Putnam had been in chief command at New York 



* Force, American Archives, Fourth Series, vol. v., pp. 787, 
843. The Continental Congress granted the amount which 
Putnam sent for. 

f Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society, vol. iii., 
p. 66. 



1776] Fortifying New York ^^^ 

nearly ten days when Washington arrived on April 
13th. The latter, after personally inspecting the 
various positions which had been taken for the defence 
of the city, urged on the works. The American force 
present for duty numbered about ten thousand men. 
Several regiments, in consequence of an order from 
Congress, were soon forwarded as a reinforcement to 
Canada; then the troops at New York were formed into 
four brigades under Generals Heath, Spencer, Stirling, 
and Greene. Putnam himself was continued in the 
general superintendence of the fortifications in process 
of construction. As a result of the occupation of Gov- 
ernor's Island and Red Hook, it was decided to enlarge 
the plan for the Brooklyn works, and Greene was ac- 
cordingly ordered to cross with his brigade to Long 
Island and to throw up, across the neck of the penin- 
sula, a new line of defences from Wallabout Bay (the 
present Navy Yard) to the Gowanus Marsh. The 
other brigades laboured at the batteries in and about 
New York City. All the streets of New York leading 
up from the water were fortified by barricades, some of 
which were built of mahogany logs taken from West 
India cargoes. For additional protection to the city, an 
" American Navy," made up of schooners, sloops, row- 
galleys, and whale-boats, was put under the command 
of lyieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Tupper, who had dis- 
tinguished himself by a naval exploit or two in Boston 
Harbour during the siege. One craft in this primitive 
little fleet was named General Piihiam, and had as its 
captain Thomas Cregier. 

It was now the middle of May, but the British 
vessels which left Boston after the evacuation in 
March had not yet appeared off New York harbour. 
In this critical period of preparation against the 



278 Israel Putnam [1776 

expected coming of the enem}^ Washington was sum- 
moned by Congress for consultation in regard to the 
campaign, and Putnam was again placed in chief com- 
mand at New York. He kept the absent Washington 
fully informed in regard to affairs. His letters — in 
every instance the body of the letter is in Aide-de- 
camp Webb's handwriting — cover a period of two 
weeks, for Washington was gone that length of time. 
Before May ended, Putnam reported, among other 
details from New York, that the signals on Staten 
Island, Green Bluff, and Governor's Island, concerning 
which Washington had given careful instructions, were 
completed, and that I^ord Stirling, Colonel Rufus Put- 
nam, and " one oiBcer from the train " had gone up the 
North River to put the fortifications in the Highlands 
into " a fit and proper posture of defence." " I am 
driving on the works with all possible dispatch," wrote 
Putnam, referring to what was being done in the city 
itself, " and shall pay particular attention to your Ex- 
cellency's directions in regard to sending an express in 
case of a fleet appearing on the coast." 

Dispatches from General Schuyler, announcing an 
American defeat at the Cedars in Canada, reached 
New York on June ist ; and on the same daj' five ves- 
sels appeared off Sandy Hook, three of which Putnam 
thought were men-of-war. A messenger was sent in 
hot haste to Philadelphia with the news. Washington 
hurried back to New York, for the " exigency of 
affairs " seemed to render his presence there extremely 
necessary. Before he arrived, the vessels which had 
been sighted off Sandy Hook proved not to be the 
British fleet, and consequently the excitement had, in a 
great degree, subsided. But the " state of peace and 
quiet " in which he found the city was only temporary, 



1776] Fortifying New York 279 

for the old rivalries between Whigs and Tories had 
been growing stronger and stronger, and the bitterness 
of feeling, already shown towards the loyalists, was to 
have a serions outbreak. On Thursday, June 13th, 
Pastor Shewkirk, of the Moravian Church of New 
York, recorded in his diary : 

" Here in town very unhappy and shocking scenes were 
exhibited. On Monday night some men called Tories were 
carried and hauled about through the streets, with candles 
forced to be held by them, or pushed in their faces, and their 
heads burned ; but on Wednesday, in the open day, the scene 
was by far worse; several, and among them gentlemen, were 
carried on rails ; some stripped naked and dreadfully abused. 
Some of the generals and especially Pudnam [Putnam] and 
their forces, had enough to do to quell the riot, and make the 
mob disperse." * 

The strain of exacting duties, day after day, in put- 
ting down public disturbances, in pushing forward the 
work of fortifying, and in keeping a sharp outlook for 
the enemy, was relieved for Putnam by his attendance 
at an occasional banquet, where he was always a wel- 
come guest because of his jolly good nature and ready 
response to a call for a song. A festive event is men- 
tioned by Captain Caleb Gibbsof Washington's Guard, 
in a letter to his " Dear Penelope " : 

"June 18 [1776]. This afternoon, the Provincial Congress 
of New York gave an elegant entertainment to General Wash- 
ington and his suite, the general and staff officers, and the 
commanding officer of the different regiments in and near the 
city. Many patriotic toasts were offered and drank with 
the greatest pleasure and decency. After the toasts, little Phil, 

of the Guard, was brought in to sing H 's new campaign 

song, and was joined by all the under officers, who seemed 

* Document 37, in Memoirs of the Long Island Historical 
Society, vol. iii. 



28o Israel Putnam 



[1776 



much animated by the accompanj'ing of Clute's drumsticks 
and Aaron's fife. Our good General Putnam got sick and went 
to his quarters before dinner was over, and we missed him a 
marvel, as there is not a chap in the camp who can lead him in 
the Maggie Lauder song." 

On June 22nd, Major Aaron Burr was appointed aide- 
de-camp to Putnam, to take the place of Webb, who had 
been promoted to a similar position under Washington. 
Young Burr, now in his twenty-first 3'ear, had accom- 
panied Arnold through Maine to Canada, and since his 
return from that fearful expedition, in which he had 
displaj^ed great courage, he had been living at Wash- 
ington's headquarters in New York, where he was 
invited to stay until a " suitable appointment could be 
procured for him." During his six-weeks' association 
with the Commander-in-chief, Burr contracted such 
prejudices against Washington that he purposed to 
retire from military service, but he was dissuaded from 
doing so by President Hancock of Congress, who ob- 
tained for him the appointment under Putnam. In his 
new position Burr was perfectly content, and nearly a 
year afterwards he could speak of himself as being still 
" happy in the esteem and entire confidence of my good 
old General." How little Putnam knew that this 
valued aide, of fascinating manners and brilliant talent, 
was to play, in the later history of America, a most 
sensational part because of unscrupulous principles ! 

June wore slowly towards its end, and the Americans 
were as busy as ever in strengthening their defences 
and in watching for a hostile armament. The whole 
American camp was soon greatly startled by the dis- 
covery of an " infernal plot " which was " on the verge 
of execution." Says Surgeon William E^ustis, a warm 
friend of Putnam : 



i77ft] Fortifying New York 281 

"Every General Officer and every other who was active in 
serving his country in the field was to have been assassinated ; 
our cannon were to be spiked up ; and in short the most ac- 
cursed scheme was laid to give us into the hands of the enemy 
and to ruin us." 

A dozen or more of the conspirators were immediately 
arrested and imprisoned ; and Thomas Hicke}^ of 
Washington's Guard, who had been bribed by Tory 
money and who had seduced others " for the most hor- 
rid and detestable purposes," was sentenced to death and 
forthwith hanged. The " Hickey Plot" was disclosed 
most opportunely, for on June 29th, the second day 
after the execution of the ringleader, forty-five vessels 
hove in sight off Sandy Hook and were reported by the 
American signal stations. Additional expresses came 
to the city, telling of other ships that had appeared off 
the coast; and, within four days, more than a hundred 
men-of-war and transports had dropped anchor in the 
Narrows. The fleet continued to swell, for General 
Howe, instead of sailing directly from Boston to New 
York, had made a voyage to Halifax, and now, with 
his brother. Admiral Richard Howe, he arrived in 
command of a force so formidable that the Yankees in 
New York were expected to be frightened into accept- 
ing the terms of reconciliation which he had been 
authorised to offer them. 

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress at Phila- 
delphia adopted a measure that put reconciliation out 
of the question. Five days afterwards all the brigades 
in New York were drawn up on their respective parade- 
grounds to listen to the Declaration of Independence ; 
and " loud huzzas" — Old Put's kings did him good 
service in leading the patriotic shouts — interrupted at 
intervals the reading of the bold document. 



282 Israel Putnam [1776 

The proximity of the threatening armament de- 
manded offensive methods for the protection of thecitj^ 
and the resourceful Putnam was planning to spread 
destruction among the British ships at the Narrows by 
means of fire-crafts, and also to complete the obstruc- 
tions in the Hudson with a contrivance of his own. 
To General Horatio Gates, who had been assigned to 
the command of the Northern Department, Putnam 
wrote on July 26th, telling what he purposed to do : 

"The enemy's fleet now lies in the bay very safe, close under 
Staten Island. Their troops possess no laud here but the 
Island. Is it not very strange, that those invincible troops, 
who were to destroy and lay wast all this country with their 
fleets and army, are so fond of islands and peninsulas, and dare 
not put their feet on the main ? But, I hope, by the blessing 
of God and good friends we shall pay them a visit on their 
island. For that end, we are preparing fourteen fire-ships to 
go into their fleet, some of which are ready charged and fitted 
to sail, and I hope soon to have them all fixed. We are pre- 
paring chevaux-de-frise, at which we make great dispatch by 
the help of ships, which are to be sunk; a scheme of mine 
which you may be assured is very simple, a plan of which I 
send you. The two ships' sterns lie towards each other, about 
seventy feet apart. Three large logs, which reach from ship 
to ship, are fastened to them. The two ships and logs stop the 
river two hundred and eighty feet. The ships are to be sunk, 
and, when hauled down on one side, the picks will be raised to 
a proper height, and they must inevitably stop the river if the 
enemy will let us sink them." 

But Putnam met with various delays in carrying out 
his plan for completing the obstructions in the Hudson. 
On August i8th, before the hulks could be sunk in the 
river, near Fort Washington, Wxo^Rose and Wio. Phcenix , 
two of the enemy's ships-of-war that had taken advant- 
age of a brisk breeze and sailedjup the Hudson as far 



17/6] Fortifying New York 283 

as Tappan Bay, moved down the river, and returned to 
the Narrows as readily as they came up. 

In turning his attention from the river to the harbour, 
Putnam soon found that his fire-ships could do little 
damage to the British fleet in the entrance to New York 
Bay, and he became greatly interested next in the in- 
vention of an ingenious Connecticut man. This was a 
submarine torpedo which the General thought could 
be used with disastrous effect against the enemy. 
David Humphreys, who appears to have been with 
Putnam at this time, gives us an account of the 
machine, which, because of its resemblance to a large 
sea-turtle, was named " The American Turtle." Sa3^s 
Humphreys : 

" General Putnam, to whom the direction of the whale-boats, 
fire-rafts, flat-bottomed boats, and armed vessels, was com- 
mitted, afforded his patronage to a project for destroying the 
enemy's shipping by explosion, A machine, altogether dif- 
ferent from anything hitherto devised by the art of man, had 
been invented by Mr. David Bushnell, for sub-marine naviga- 
tion, which was found to answer the purpose perfectly, of row- 
ing horizontally at any given depth under water, and of rising 
and sinking at pleasure. To this machine, called the American 
Turtle, was attached a magazine of powder, which was intended 
to be fastened under the bottom of a ship, with a driving screw, 
in such sort, that the same stroke which disengaged it from the 
machine, should put the internal clock-work in motion. This 
being done, the ordinary operation of a gun-lock at the distance 
of half an hour, an hour, or any determinate time, would cause 
the powder to explode, and leave the eflFects to the common 
laws of nature. The simplicity, yet combination discovered in 
the mechanism of this wonderful machine, were acknowledged 
by those skilled in physics, and particularly hydraulics, to be 
not less ingenious than novel. The inventor, whose constitu- 
tion was too feeble to permit him to perform the labour of row- 
ing the Turtle, had taught his brother to manage it with perfect 



284 Israel Putnam [1776 

dexterity ; but unfortunately his brother fell sick of a fever 
just before the arrival of the fleet. Recourse was therefore 
had to a sergeant in the Connecticut troops ; who, having re- 
ceived whatever instructions could be communicated to him in 
a short time, went, too late in the night, with all the apparatus, 
under the bottom of the Eagle, a sixty-four gun ship, on board 
of which the British Admiral, Lord Howe, commanded. 

"In coming up, the screw that had been calculated to per- 
forate the copper sheathing, unluckily struck against some iron 
plates, where the rudder is connected with the stern. This 
accident, added to the strength of the tide which prevailed, and 
the want of adequate skill in the sergeant, occasioned such 
delay that the dawn began to appear, whereupon he abandoned 
the magazine to chance, and after gaining a proper distance 
for the sake of expedition rowed on the surface toward the 
town. General Putnam, who had been on the wharf anxiously 
expecting the result from the first glimmering of light, beheld 
the machine near Governor's Island and sent a whaleboat to 
bring it on shore. In about twenty minutes afterwards the 
magazine exploded and blew a vast column of water to an 
amazing height in the air." 

The consternation which the explosion caused both 
on shore and on board the British vessel, afforded Put- 
nam and other ofi5cers great amusement. 

" General Putnam and others who waited with great anxiety 
for the result," writes Dr. James Thatcher, another contem- 
porary, in referring to the same experiment with the "American 
Turtle," " were exceedingly amused with the astonishment and 
alarm which this secret explosion occasioned on board of the 
ship. This failure, it is confidently asserted, is not to be at- 
tributed to any defect in the principles of this wonderful 
machine ; as it is allowed to be admirably calculated to exe- 
cute destruction among the shipping." * 

But no further attempts to destroy the enemy's ves- 
sels with this " wonderful machine" appear to have 
been made. 



* Military Journal, p. 64. 



1776] Fortifying New York 285 

By midsummer the British transports and men-of- 
war in the vicinity of New York, nearly three hundred 
in all, were increased by a fleet, bringing the united 
forces of General Henry Clinton and Earl Cornwallis, 
who had failed to capture the city of Charleston, South 
Carolina, and by ships having on board a large body 
of British Guards, besides eight thousand Hessians. 
These reinforcements, like the troops preceding them, 
disembarked on Staten Island, and there went into 
camp. The army of General Howe now numbered, 
more than thirty-one thousand men, rank and file. 

Among the British officers on Staten Island was 
Major James Moncrieffe, the comrade of the earlier war, 
with whom Putnam had renewed friendship at the time 
of the exchange of prisoners at Charlestown in June, 
1775, and to whom he sent gifts of provisions during the 
siege of Boston. Although he was related by marriage 
to Governor William Livingston of New Jersey, Lord 
Stirling, and other Americans of high station who had 
espoused the patriotic cause, Moncrieffe still adhered to 
the Crown. His daughter Margaret, a " witty, viva- 
cious, piquant and beautiful" girl, nearly fourteen 3'ears 
of age, was at this time at Elizabethtown, N. J. She 
was very anxious to visit her father on Staten Island, 
but found herself sadly prevented by the military lines. 
Her father wrote to Putnam, soliciting a pass for her. 
In addressing the letter, however, he omitted the title 
of" General," for he, like every other British oflScer, 
considered all Americans in arms rebels without valid 
commissions. Margaret, in fear that her father's re- 
quest would be denied because of his refusal to recognise 
the official rank of Putnam, wrote to the latter, begging 
him to overlook the omission of the proper title. Put- 
nam received her note in New York, and his reply was 



286 Israel Putnam [1776 

prepared for his signature by the hand of his new aide- 
de-camp, Burr. Here is the letter from the magnani- 
mous General to the young girl : 

"New- York, July 26, 1776. 

"I should have answered your letter sooner, but had it not 
in my power to write you anything satisfactory. 

"The omission of my title in Major Moucriefife's letter is a 
matter I regard not in the least ; nor does it in any way influ- 
ence my conduct in this affair as you seem to imagine. Any 
political difference alters him not to me in a private capacity. 
As an officer he is my enemy, and obliged to act as such, be his 
private sentiments what they will. As a man I owe him no 
enmity ; but, far from it, will with pleasure do any kind office 
in my power for him or any of his connections. 

" I have, agreeably to your desire, waited on his Excellency 
to endeavour to obtain permission for you to go to Staten-Island. 
He informs me that Lieutenant-Colonel Patterson, who came 
with the last flag, said he was empowered to offer the exchange 
of James Lovell for Governor [Philip] Skene [of Skenesboro', 
now Whitehall, N. Y.]. As the Congress have reserved to 
themselves the right of exchanging prisoners, the General has 
sent to know their pleasure and doubts not they will give their 
consent. I am desired to inform you that if this exchange is 
made, you will have liberty to pass out with Governor Skene ; 
but that no flag will be sent solely for that purpose. 

"Major William Livingston was lately here and informed 
me that you had an inclination to live in this city ; and that all 
the ladies of your acquaintance having left town, and Mrs. 
Putnam and two daughters being here, proposed your staying 
with them. If agreeable to you, be assured, Miss, j-ou shall be 
sincerely welcome. You will here, I think, be in a more prob- 
able way of accomplishing the end you wish, that of seeing 
your father; and may depend upon every civility from, Miss, 
your obedient servant, 

"ISRAEi. Putnam." * 



* Force, American Archives, Fifth Series, vol, i., p. 471. 



1776] Fortifying New York 287 

Putnam's wife and two daughters, who are mentioned 
in the foregoing letter, appear to have arrived several 
weeks before at the General's New York headquarters, 
at the Kennedy house, No. i Broadway. Margaret 
Moncrieffe accepted the cordial invitation to come here 
and live in the family until arrangements could be 
made for sending her to Staten Island. An officer was 
sent to conduct her to the city ; and we hav^e, in her 
own words,* the story of her experiences in her new 
surroundings : 

" When I arrived in Broadway (a street so called), where 
General Putnam resided, I was received with great tenderness 
by Mrs. Putnam and her daughters, and on the following day I 
was introduced by them to General and Mrs. Washington, who 
likewise made it their study to show me every mark of regard ; 
but I seldom was allowed to be alone, although sometimes, 
indeed, I found an opportunity to escape to the gallery on the 
top of the house, where my chief delight was to view with a 
telescope our fleet and army on Staten Island. My amuse- 
ments were few ; the good Mrs. Putnam employed me and her 
daughters constantly to spin flax for shirts for the American 
soldiers, indolence in America being totally discouraged ; and 
I likewise worked for General Putnam, who, though not an 
accomplished muscadin, like our dilettanti of St. James's 
Street, was certainly one of the best characters in the world ; 
his heart being composed of those noble materials which equally 
command respect and admiration." 

After dinner one day, when Washington was present, 
the loyalist girl declined to join in a toast to the 



* The Personal Memoirs of I\Irs. Margaret {Monerieffe) 
Coghlan were written in 1793. Her life has been made the 
subject of a historical novel, entitled Margaret Monerieffe : 
The first love affair of Aaron Burr, hy Q.\ia.r\es Burdett. For 
her career, see Parton's Life of Aaron Burr and Sabiue's 
Loyalists of the Ameriean Revolution. 



288 Israel Putnam [1776 

Continental Congress and proposed, instead, one to 
General Howe. The whole company, she relates, was 
somewhat disconcerted by this" affront," but, she adds, 
" my good friend, General Putnam, as usual, apolo- 
gised, and assured them I did not mean to offend." 
The fascinating little Tory was forthwith forgiven on 
condition that she should drink to the health of General 
Washington or General Putnam the first time she dined 
at General Howe's table. 

On Wednesday, August 7th, Margaret was permitted 
to go in a barge from New York to see her father. She 
tells, with romantic femininity, what happened at the 
British headquarters on Staten Island : 

" When my name was announced, the British commander-in- 
chief sent Colonel Sheriff with an invitation from Sir William 
Howe to dinner, which was necessarily accepted. When intro- 
duced I cannot describe the emotion I felt; so sudden the 
transition in a few hours that I was ready to sink into the earth ! 
Judge the distress of a girl not fourteen obliged to encounter 
the curious inquisitive eyes of at least forty or fifty people who 
were at dinner with the general. Fatigued with their fastidi- 
ous compliments, I could only hear the buzz among them, say- 
ing, ' She is a sweet girl, she is divinely handsome ' ; although 
it was some relief to be placed at table next to the wife of 
Major Montresor, who had known me from my infancy. 
Owing to this circumstance I recovered a degree of confidence ; 
but, being unfortunately asked, agreeable to military etiquette, 
for a toast, I gave ' General Putnam.' Colonel Sheriff said, in 
a low voice, ' You must not give him here ' ; when Sir William 
Howe complaisantly replied, ' O ! by all means ; if he be the 
lady's sweetheart I can have no objection to drink his health.' 
This involved me in a new dilemma ; I wished myself a thou- 
sand miles distant, and, to divert the attention of the company, 
I gave to the general a letter that I had been commissioned to 
deliver from General Putnam, of which the following is a copy. 
(And here I consider myself bound to apologise for the bad 
spelling of my most excellent republican friend. The bad 



1776] Fortifying New York 289 

orthography was amply compensated for by the magnanimity 
of the man who wrote it) : 

" ' Ginrale Putnam's compliments to Major Moncrieffe, has 
made him a present of a fine daughter, if he don't lick [like] 
her he must send her back again, and he will previde her with 
a good twig husband.' 

"The substitution of twig for ivhig husband served as a 
fund of entertainment for the whole company." 

In connection with Putnam's liumourous allusions to 
the willingness of his family to have Margaret again 
with them, it is interesting to find that she returned 
soon afterwards from Staten Island to New York. 

Despite the oppressive August weather, Putnam 
continued to be an exceedingly busy man. He was 
constant in attendance at early prayers at the Grand 
Battery — so General Henry Knox tells us — and after the 
morning duties, which were performed under a " sun 
hot enough to roast an ^'g^,'" he would often have some 
of the principal officers at dinner with him at his head- 
quarters, where he offered always a most cordial hos- 
pitality. The brigades forming Putnam's, Spencer's, 
and Sullivan's division, with the Connecticut militia, 
were retained in August within the city and its imme- 
diate vicinity. Of Heath's division, Mifflin's brigade 
was posted at Fort Washington, at the upper end of 
Manhattan Island, and George Clinton's at Kings- 
bridge. Greene's division — Nixon's and Heard's 
brigades, with the exception of Prescott's regiment 
and Nixon's, now under his brother, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Thomas Nixon, which were on Governor's 
Island — occupied the Long Island front. 

The suspense of the Americans daily increased. The 
hostile troops on Staten Island seemed to be ready to 



290 Israel Putnam [1776 

move forward at any moment against New York ; yet 
it was uncertain where they would make their first at- 
tack. Meanwhile General Gates of the Northern De- 
partment had abandoned Crown Point on the approach 
of a British force from Canada. He took post at 
Ticonderoga, and began to put that place in a proper 
condition for defence. From there Gates sent a charac- 
teristic letter to Putnam, bantering him about the old 
fort which he had helped to build in the French and 
Indian War, and inquiring in regard to affairs at New 
York: 

"Tyonderoga, August II, 1776. 

"Dear Put : Everj- fond mother dotes upou her booby, be 
his imperfections ever so glaring, and his good qualities ever 
so few. Crown-Point was not indeed your own immediate off- 
spring, but you had a capital hand in rearing the baby. You 
cut all the logs, which are now rotten as dirt, and tumbled in 
the dust. No matter for that. Why should you not be fond 
of Crown-Point ? If I live to be as old as you I shall be as fond 
of Tyonderoga. I can assure you I fancy already that my 
booby is a great deal handsomer than yours, and has a thou- 
sand excellencies more than yours ever possessed. But don't 
be uneas}', the absurdities of your booby time will very soon 
obliterate ; but mine will live for some future great engineer, 
like myself, to laugh at and despise. 

"Joking apart: Have you blown up Staten Island? Have 
you burnt the enemy's fleet? Have you sent the two brothers 
[General Howe and Admiral Howe] to Hartford [American jail 
for British prisoners] ? What have you and what have you not 
done? Sense, courage, honour, and abilities, you know to be 
the great outlines of a General. My friend Tom Mifflin [Brig- 
adier-General Thomas Mifflin] has an uncommon share of all 
four. Present my affectionate compliments to him. I shall 
preserve your letter [probably Putnam's letter of July 26, 1776, 
about fire-ships and the chcvaux-de-frise\ for a winter evening's 
subject when we three meet again. 

"Remember me affectionately, as you ought, and believe 



1776] 



Fortifying New York 



291 



me, veteran, your sincere well-wisher and most obedient, 
humble servant, 

" Horatio Gates." * 

Gates's letter, half jocular, half serious, reached 
Putnam at a crisis in the campaign when his courage 
and abilities were about to be put to the severest test. 



* Force, American Archives, Fifth Series, vol. i., p. 900. 




CHAPTER XX 



THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND 




1776 

UTNAM had spent much of the time for 
several weeks in moving up and down 
New York harbour, to keep vigilant 
watch of the enemy. On the morning 
of August 17, 1776, he landed in great 
haste at one of the city wharves and 
at least one-fourth of the fleet had 



reported that 
sailed." 



" But where," wrote Adjutant-General Joseph Reed in a letter 
that day, " we are at a loss to judge or whether there may not be 
a mistake by their shifting their station. If they are really gone, 
one of two objects must be in view, either to go round Long 
Island and attempt to get above us in order to cut us off from 
the country or proceed around to the Delaware. I do not know 
any measure they could take which would so effectually dis- 
concert and injure us as the latter." * 

Several days later the main body of troops on Staten 
Island seemed to be preparing to make an aggressive 
movement. Washington was now inclined to believe 
that the British intended to land above the city, in 



* Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed, by W. B. Reed, 
vol. i., p. 216. 

292 



1776] The Battle of Long Island 293 

order to hem in his army at the lower end of Manhat- 
tan Island. He therefore sent word on August 22nd to 
General Heath, a part of whose force was at Kings- 
bridge, to be ready to move down in case of an attack. 
Washington, in the same message, promised to send 
him some artillery, 

"if," he stated, "we have uot other employment upon hand, 
which General Putnam, who is this instant come in, seems to 
think we assuredly shall have this day, as there is a consider- 
able embarkation on board of the enemy's boats." * 

It was soon evident that the British purposed to cross 
with the main a.Tn\y from Staten Island to Long Island. 
Before noon, on August 22nd, fifteen thousand royal 
troops were transported across the Narrows to Graves- 
end Bay, and two days later this force was increased 
by five thousand Hessians. At the American head- 
quarters there was a difference of opinion as to the 
design of the enemy who had left Staten Island. Some 
of the ofiicers thought that a direct advance would be 
made by the whole force against the Brooklyn works ; 
others feared that the landing on Long Island was only 
a feint to draw off our troops to that side and that the 
main attack would be on New York. In this time of 
doubt one thing was obvious to Washington, that it 
would be imprudent to run any risk on the Brooklyn 
side, and he accordingly sent six regiments to reinforce 
the garrison on the Heights. Soon after, Washington 
himself crossed over to Long Island. He found the 
British occupying a line from the coast through Graves- 
end to Flatlands, with an advanced division encamped 
in front of the American outpost at the Flatbush Pass. 



* Writings 0/ George Washington, ed. by W. C. Ford, vol. iv. 



294 Israel Putnam [1776 

This hostile attitude convinced the Commander-in- 
chief that the Brooklyn garrison should be again re- 
inforced. On his return to New York he dispatched 
four more regiments and, feeling that a change in the 
general command on L,ong Island was desirable, he 
appointed Putnam to supersede Major-General Sulli- 
van, who had been filling the place of the fever-stricken 
Greene. As for the reasons for this new order of 
things, whereby Putnam was given the general com- 
mand across the river while Sullivan was placed in 
subordinate control of Long Island, we'have this state- 
ment by Adjutant-General Reed : 

"On General Green's being sick, Sullivan took the com- 
mand, who was wholly unacquainted with the ground or 
country. Some movements being made which the General 
[Washington] did not approve entirely, and finding a great 
force going to Long Island, he sent over Putnam, who had 
been over occasionally ; this gave some disgust [to Sullivan], 
so that Putnam was directed to soothe and soften [him] as much 
as possible." * 

The veteran Putnam, quick to detect at a distance 
the first sound of skirmishing on Long Island, had 
been all-impatient to be at the front. He crossed to 
the Brooklyn Heights on the morning of August 24th, 
immediately after receiving his appointment to the 
command. Said Reed in a letter from New York that 
day to his wife : 

"While I am writing there is a heavy firing and clouds of 
smoke rising from the wood [on Long Island]. General Put- 
nam was made happy by obtaining leave to go over — the brave 
old man was quite miserable at being kept here." 



* T. Sedgwick, Life of William Livingston ; letter of Reed 
to Governor Ijivingston. 



1776] The Battle of Long Island 295 

Old Put was received with loud cheers on his arrival 
at the Brooklyn Heights, and his presence inspired 
universal confidence. He found that nearly one- third 
of the American army of nineteen thousand men was 
on that side, for the force there included not only 
Greene's division but the whole of Nixon's and 
Heard's Brigades (the two regiments on Governor's 
Island excepted), the greater part of Stirling's and 
Parsons's, and half of Scott's and Wadsworth's. 

The General, accompanied by Aide-de-camp Burr, 
made an inspection of the chain of defences which had 
been built, during the summer, between the Wallabout 
Cove and the Gowanus Marsh. On the right of the 
road which led up from the Ferry were Fort Greene 
and Fort Box ; on the left were the Oblong Redoubt, 
Fort Putnam (probably named after Col. Rufus Put- 
nam, who, as chief engineer, had marked out the prin- 
cipal lines on Long Island), and a redoubt on the left 
of Fort Putnam. These five works were connected by 
a line of intrenchments. Beyond the Brooklyn Heights 
rose a ridge of hills, extending from New York Bay 
midway through Long Island to its eastern end. The 
thick growth of woods and thickets, which covered 
the entire surface of this ridge, seemed to present such 
a continuous barrier to any approach by the enemy 
from the plains where they were camped, that the 
Americans hoped to be able to hold the ground against 
superior numbers. Several passes through the natural 
depressions of the wooded ridge needed to be guarded 
with care. The one nearest the coast was on the 
Gowanus Road, which led to the Narrows; another was 
on the Flatbush Road, which cut through the ridge at a 
distance of a mile and a half from the Brooklyn fortifica- 
tions ; a third pass lay still farther to the east on the 



296 Israel Putnam [1776 

road from Bedford to Flatbush ; and the fourth, known 
as the Jamaica Pass, was nearly four miles away, be- 
yond the extreme left of the American position. It 
does not appear that Putnam, on the day of his arrival, 
changed any of the arrangements which Sullivan had 
already made for the defence of the Coast Road, the 
Flatbush Pass, and the Bedford Road, but left to him 
the disposition of the troops at these outposts. 

On August 25th Washington sent written instruc- 
tions to Putnam, expressing his disapproval of the 
random firing of the skirmishers at the outposts, and 
giving careful directions in regard to the precautions 
to be taken, especially in the wood next to Red Hook, 
bordering the Gowanus Creek, against the anticipated 
attack by the British. So heartily and efficiently had 
Putnam always seconded him in all his plans and pre- 
parations, that the Commander-in-chief had reason to 
feel that his orders would be followed out to the letter. 

On the morning of August 26th Washington again 
crossed to Long Island. He spent a busy and anxious 
day, for he was now certain that the enemy intended 
" to make their grand push there." Towards evening, 
accompanied by Putnam, Sullivan, and other officers, 
he rode down to the outpost near Flatbush to observe 
the hostile force encamped in front of that pass, and 
it was here, according to the testimony of one of the 
American soldiers, that the Commander-in-chief and 
his companions were seen " looking at the enemy with 
their field-glasses." As a result of the reconnoissance, 
Washington, immediately on his return to New York 
that night of the 26th, sent over an additional re- 
inforcement. This raised the American army on Long 
Island to a total of about seven thousand. Of this 
number, four thousand men were under Putnam's per- 



1776] The Battle of Long Island 297 

sonal command behind the Brooklyn works, while 
Sullivan had the immediate charge of all the troops, 
nearly three thousand, outside the fortified lines. 
Three passes were in a measure provided for, but far 
over to the left was the Jamaica Road, to which little 
attention had been paid. To that extremely isolated 
place, Sullivan, exercising the same authority as in 
making other details, sent out on the evening of August 
26th a special patrol of five commissioned officers. This 
was the only provision made for guarding the pass. In 
fact, the American generals, Washington included, ap- 
parently felt little apprehension of an attack from that 
direction. They thought the main body of the British 
would try to force the other passes. 

It was evident to Putnam and the principal officers 
on lyong Island that the enemy would soon make a 
strong advance movement, but the approach was even 
more " sudden and violent " than had been anticipated. 
The battle began at two o'clock on the morning of 
August 27th, when the American pickets in the vicinity 
of the Red Lion on the Gowanus Road were attacked 
by a force which had marched up from the Narrows. 
In the confusion and darkness the pickets fell back be- 
fore their assailants, and some of their number were 
taken prisoners. Brigadier-General Samuel H. Parsons, 
who was in chief command of the Gowanus outpost, 
succeeded in rallying some of the men and posting them 
advantageously on a hill. Meanwhile news of the at- 
tack had been quickly carried to the Brooklyn camp. 
Putnam, whom Washington had instructed to hold 
the outposts "at all hazards" with the best troops, 
awoke Lord Stirling and sent him with a reinforce- 
ment to the relief of the pickets and to check the ad- 
vance of the enemy. This officer, who had arrived in 



298 Israel Putnam [1776 

camp two daj'S before, describes the occurrences of the 
memorable morning of the battle. Says Stirling : 

"About three o'clock in the morning of the 27th, I was called 
up and informed by General Putnam that the enemj' were 
advancing by the road from Flatbush to the Red Lion. He 
ordered me to march with the two regiments nearest at hand 
to meet them ; these happened to be Haslet's and Smallwood's, 
with which I accordingly marched and was on the road to the 
Narrows just as the daylight began to appear. We proceeded to 
within about half a mile of the Red Lion and there met Colonel 
Atlee with his regiment, who informed me that the enemy were 
in sight ; indeed I then saw their front between us and the Red 
Lion. I desired Colonel Atlee to place his regiment on the 
left of the road and to wait their coming up, while I went to 
form the two regiments I had brought with me, along a ridge 
from the road up to a piece of wood on the top of the hill ; this 
was done instantly on very advantageous ground. Our oppon- 
ents advanced and were fired upon in the road by Alice's, who, 
after two or three rounds, retreated to the wood on my left and 
there formed. By this time Kichliue's Riflemen arrived ; part 
of them I placed along a hedge under the front of the hill and 
the rest in the front of the wood. The troops opposed to me 
were two brigades of four regiments each, under the command 
of General Grant, who advanced their light troops to within 
one hundred and fifty yards of our right front, and took posses- 
sion of an orchard there and some hedges which extended 
towards our left ; this brought on an exchange of fire between 
those troops and our Riflemen, which continued for about two 
hours and then ceased by those light troops retiring to their 
main body. In the meantime Captain Carpenter brought up 
two field-pieces, which were placed on the side of the hill so as 
to command the road and the only approach for some hundred 
j-ards. On the part of General Grant there were two field- 
pieces, one howitz advanced to within three hundred yards of 
the front of our right, and a like detachment of artillery to the 
front of our left, on a rising ground, at about six hundred yards 
distance. One of their brigades formed in two lines opposite to 
our right, and the others extended in one line to top of the 



1776] The Battle of Long Island 299 

hills in the front of our left ; in this position we stood cannon- 
ading each other till near eleven o'clock." * 

While lyord Stirling and the British General Grant 
were thus opposing each other in regtilar battle forma- 
tion, another struggle had begun elsewhere. The 
Americans at the Flatbush Pass had been attacked. 
Under the lead of General Sullivan, they were trying 
to block the advance of the Hessians, who had opened 
their cannon against the battery at that outpost. Back 
at the Brooklyn lines the troops were drawn up within 
the forts and behind the breastworks, where, since 
dawn, every preparation had been made to repel the 
British in case they penetrated the woods and ap- 
proached through the passes and down the Gowanus 
and Flatbush Roads. So gallant a defense, however, 
were Parsons's, Stirling's, and Sullivan's men making 
at the outposts, that there seemed to be good prospect 
of thwarting the attempts of the enemy to move forward 
from the plains below. And now, when all was ap- 
parently going well with the Americans and they were 
congratulating themselves along the hills and in the 
woods and at the forts, one of Colonel Miles's soldiers 
on guard near the Bedford Road came hurrying into the 
Brooklyn camp and reported to Putnam that infantry 
and cavalry were marching down from the Jamaica 
Road. The startling news was all too true. A few mo- 
ments later the real plans of the enemy were disclosed. 

Little had Putnam and the other American generals 
suspected that the hostile demonstrations before the 
Gowanus and Flatbush passes were only feints to divert 
attention, while General Howe, with General Henry 
Clinton and Lords Percy and Cornwallis, conducted the 



* American Archives, Fifth Series, vol. i., p. 1245. 



2,00 Israel Putnam [1776 

main body of the British army far around by way of the 
Jamaica Pass. The long, flanking force had made an 
all-night march, had captured the special patrol of five 
mounted officers, and was now proceeding down from 
the Jamaica Road in order to place itself directly in the 
rear of the American outposts. Fortunately this retro- 
grade movement was discovered in time to prevent the 
powerful column from cutting off entirely the retreat 
from the passes ; but the day soon became one of great 
confusion and disaster for the Americans. The guns of 
the British flanking force notified the Hessians, under 
De Heister, in front of Flatbush, and also the troops 
whom Grant had led up the Gowanus coast road, that 
the time had come for real action, and these detach- 
ments accordingly advanced in impetuous onset. The 
alarm spread along the American line and a wild 
struggle ensued, for the enemy's flanking column was 
pushing rapidly forward to close in upon the rear of 
the patriot troops. The imminent danger of being 
wedged in between the hostile forces compelled the 
men at the passes to turn and fight their way back to 
the Brooklyn works. Through the woods, down the 
slopes, and across the fields, they hurried. Battalions 
soon broke up, companies could not be kept to- 
gether, and the soldiers, some singly, some in groups, 
cut their way, as best they could, towards the forts. 
Many were furiously attacked by the British light in- 
fantry ; others were charged upon by the dragoons ; 
and still others were pinned to the ground by Hessian 
bayonets. For several hours the woods rang with 
shouts of the combatants and the scene was one of hot 
and bloody excitement. 

From the Brooklyn works, where Putnam was, a 
part of the fierce fighting could be seen. Most thrill- 



1776] The Battle of Long Island 301 

ing was the sight of the heroic action of Smallwood's 
Maryland troops, under Stirling. Although nearly 
hemmed in by Cornwallis's detachment, which had 
advanced as far as the Cortelyou House, near the Go- 
wan us Marsh, they faced the enemy and tried to secure 
the retreat of the other Americans across the Marsh 
into the camp. At the time that Stirling, who " fought 
like a wolf," was leading a gallant charge against the 
British, Washington crossed from New York to Brook- 
lyn. He was deeply moved on witnessing the bloody 
hand-to-hand encounter and the forced retreat. ' ' Good 
God ! " he exclaimed with anguish, " what brave fel- 
lows I must this day lose ! " 

While the British were pressing forward towards the 
Brooklyn works, driving the Americans before them, 
Putnam was occupied in passing rapidly among the 
men behind the defences and in issuing orders right 
and left in anticipation of the assault which was mo- 
mentarily expected. One of the New York militiamen 
at the intrenchments was a native of Brooklyn. His 
name was Remsen. This man in after years used to 
tell, among his reminiscences of the battle, a story 
of Putnam* which, according to the statement of a 
listener, Carson Brevoort, was in substance as follows : 

"At the point where Mr. Remsen was stationed, the em- 
bankment was so low that the men were obliged to crouch 
behind it to obtain protection from the British fire ; and when- 
ever the enemy approached within range the first line of troops 
kneeled to aim and discharge their guns. A few paces in the 
rear of the firing parties Gen. Putnam was constantly stalk- 
ing back and forth, at every return enforcing anew his favourite 
command, which Bunker Hill had made so famous : ' Don't 
fire, boys, until you can see the whites of their eyes.' The 



* Memoirs of Long Island Historical Society, vol. ii, p. 222. 



302 Israel Putnam [1776 

emineut success of this injunction in that battle had given it an 
importance in the mind of the old Indian fighter which quite 
justified its frequent repetition behind the Brooklyn entrench- 
ments. . . . 

"Near that part of the line where Mr. Remsen lay was a 
group that attracted his attention, because he felt certain that 
its manceuvres would cause an explosion of Putnam's wrath the 
moment it caught his eye. A soldier of one of the Connecticut 
regiments was crouching behind the breastwork and was busily 
employed in loading his own and his comrade's gun, which 
were fired, however, only by the latter, a Maryland soldier, 
who was kneeling to rest his piece upon the parapet and with 
deliberate aim picking off the enemy's troops. This partner- 
ship of courage and poltroonery, which exposed the brave 
Marylander without intermission while his comrade was reclin- 
ing in perfect safety, at length arrested the attention of the 
promenading General. The angry blood, which fired so readily 
at the call of his hot temper, flamed in an instant on his coun- 
tenance, and with a few quick strides he reached the side of 
the couchant hero, who remained unconscious of the proximity 
of his angry General. The flat side of his sword fell with sting- 
ing force on the back of the culprit as he exclaimed, 'Get up, 
up you damned coward, and fire your own gun.' " 

By two o'clock in the afternoon the battle was ended, 
for General Howe, having profited by his experience 
of the previous year at Bunker Hill, did not attempt to 
carry the works by storm. Although the Americans 
thus continued to hold the fortified camp, they had 
been disastrously repulsed. Four hundred patriots 
were b'ing either dead or wounded on the field, and at 
least a thousand, among whom were Generals Stirling 
and Sullivan, had been taken prisoners. The cause 
of the defeat is apparent at once. The flanking 
force on the Jamaica Road outnumbered the whole 
American army. The wonder, as historians like Mar- 
shall, Sparks, Carrington, and Fiske have pointed out, 



1776] The Battle of Long Island 303 

is not that five thousand half-trained soldiers were de- 
feated by twenty thousand veterans, but that they 
should have given General Howe a hard day's work 
in defeating them, thus leading the British general 
to pause and giving Washington time to plan the 
withdrawal of his army from its exposed situation. 
The responsibility for the surprise by the British 
flanking march on the Jamaica Road has been often 
discussed. A clear and true statement of the whole 
case has been made by Prof. Henry P. Johnston. He 
succinctly settles the controversy thus : 

"As for the generalship of the day, if the responsibility 
falls on any one, it falls first on Sullivan, who sent out the 
mounted patrol in the first instance, and to whom it belonged 
to follow up the precautions in that direction. Putnam was in 
chief command, but nothing can be inferred from contempo- 
rary records to fasten neglect or blunder upon him any more 
than upon Washington, who, when he left the Brooklyn lines 
on the evening of the 26th, must have known precisely what 
disposition had been made for the night at the hills and passes. 
And upon Washington certainly the responsibility cannot rest. 
According to some of our more recent versions of this battle, 
the disaster is to be referred to the willful disobedience, criminal 
inattention, and total incapacity of General Putnam. Several 
writers make the charge so pointedly and upon such an array 
of fact, that the reader is left to wonder how all this should 
have escaped the notice of the Commander-in-chief at the 
time, and why Putnam was not immediately court-martialled 
and dismissed the service, instead of being continued, as he 
was, in important command. The charge is the more serious 
as it is advanced by so respectable an authority as Mr. Ban- 
croft. Mr. Field, Mr. Dawson and Dr. Stiles, following the 
latter, incline strongly in the same direction. . . . 

"In brief, the case seems to be this : On the night of the 
26th, we had all the roads guarded. On the morning of the 
27th, Putnam promptly reinforced the guards on the lower road 
when the enemy were announced. The arrangements were 



304 Israel Putnam [1776 

such that if an attack was made at any of the other points, he 
and Sullivan were to have word of it in ample time. No word 
came in time from the left, for the reason that those who were to 
bring it were captured, or surprised, or failed of their duty. 
Hence the disaster. The dispositions on Long Island were 
quite as complete as those at Brandywine more than a year 
later, where we suflFered nearly a similar surprise and as heavy 
a loss. Suppose the very small patrols sent out by Washington 
and Sullivan to gain information before that battle had been 
captured, as at Long Island — we should have sustained a greater 
disaster than at Long Island. 

" Under this state of facts, to charge Putnam with the defeat 
of the 27th, in terms which some writers have employed, is 
both unjust and unhistorical. That misfortune is not to be 
clouded with the additional reflection, that it was due to the 
gross neglect and general incapacity of the officer in command. 
No facts or inferences justify the charge. No one hinted it at 
the time ; nor did Washington in the least withdraw his con- 
fidence from Putnam during the remainder of the campaign." * 



* " Campaign of 1776," in Memoirs of Long Island His- 
torical Society., vol. iii., pp. 192-195. 





CHAPTER XXI 

A FORCED RETREAT 
1776 




NDAUNTED by the defeat in the battle 
of lyong Island, the Americans under 
Putnam strengthened the Brooklyn 
works in order to make a vigorous 
resistance of any attempt by the Brit- 
ish to carry the position by storm. 
Reinforcements arrived from New York side and on 
August 28tli, the day after the passes had been captured 
by the enemy, the number of patriots in the forts and 
behind the other defences at Brooklyn had been in- 
creased to more than nine thousand five hundred men. 
Despite hunger, fatigue, and inclement weather, they 
kept up stout heart and obeyed all orders with spirit. 
Meanwhile, the British Commander-in-chief, Howe, too 
cautious to attempt an immediate assault, was prepar- 
ing to approach the Americans by regular siege. His 
army lay in a semi-circle a mile and a half distant along 
the edge of the woods. When detachments from this 
force moved forward to open trenches nearer the 
Brooklyn lines, the Americans fired upon them. A 
series of skirmishes now began, "in which," writes 

Colonel Gold S. Silliman, one of Putnam's officers, " the 

20 

305 



3o6 Israel Putnam [1776 

success is sometimes one way and sometimes another." 
" We are in constant expectation of a general battle," 
he notes on August 29th ; " no one can be here long 
without getting pretty well-acquainted with the 
whistling of cannon and musket-shot." 

Washington soon realised that it was useless to at- 
tempt any longer to keep the enemy at bay. So he 
called a Council-of-War to consider the question of re- 
treat. Major-Generals Putnam and Spencer, Brig- 
adier-Generals Mifflin, McDougall, Parsons, Scott, 
Wadsworth, and Fellows met, with the Commander- 
in-chief, at the house of Philip Livingston, who a few 
weeks before had been one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, and who was still in at- 
tendance at the Continental Congress at Philadelphia. 
The beautifully-furnished colonial mansion of this 
well-known patriot stood on the line of Hicks Street, 
just south of Joralemon Street, on Brooklyn Heights. 
Here, on the stormy afternoon of August 29th, the all- 
important matter of retreat was fully discussed, and 
those present were " convinced by unanswerable 
reasons ' ' that the army should be removed to New 
York. A high wind and strong tide seemed to make 
an immediate withdrawal impossible, but fortunately 
the weather soon changed and on the night after the 
Council-of-War there was accomplished one of the most 
brilliant feats of the war, — the transportation of the 
whole American force on Long Island across the East 
River to New York, without discovery by the enemy. 
In that memorable midnight achievement, in slipping 
away from the British, Putnam was one of the most 
energetic leaders, and we may believe that the safe 
embarkation of the troops was in large measure due to 
the readiness with which the men, who had implicit 



17761 A Forced Retreat 307 

faith in his military sagacity, obeyed his instructions. 
He ably seconded the great chief, Washington. 

Despite the proximity of the British, who quickly 
took possession of the Brooklyn works and Governor's 
Island, and thus commanded New York, the American 
generals agreed that the city should not be given " in 
fee-simple " to the eneni}'. They accordingly arranged 
to occupy it with their troops as long as possible. In 
anticipation, however, of the final evacuation, some of 
the stores and ammunition were removed, and the 
women and children were also sent northward. It 
must have been at this time that Putnam's wife and 
daughters went to Kingsbridge, from which place they 
soon afterwards returned to Connecticut. 

A new disposition of the American troops was effected 
within a few days after the retreat from L,ong Island. 
The whole army was divided into three grand divisions 
under Putnam, Spencer, and Heath. Putnam's divi- 
sion, which consisted of Parsons's, Scott's, James Clin- 
ton's (Glover's), Fellows's, and Silliman's brigades, was 
assigned to the city and protected the East River above 
as far as Fifteenth Street. Spencer's division of six 
brigades continued the line of defence from that point 
to Horn's Hook and Harlem; and Heath's division of 
two brigades guarded Kingsbridge and the Westches- 
ter shore. Thus the attempt was made to defend every 
point on the East side from the Battery to Kingsbridge, 
or the entire length of Manhattan Island, a distance of 
nearly fifteen miles. 

The obstruction of the North or Hudson River still 
seemed to Putnam a very important thing to be accom- 
plished, for, as he said at this time, " If Howe gets to 
Albany, our north-western army must quitTiconderoga 
or fall a sacrifice. Burgoyne need never come from 



3o8 Israel Putnam [1776 

Canada." But, on account of their limited military 
force, the Americans on Manhattan Island were com- 
pelled to confine their attention to the Kast shore, and 
when a Council-of-\Var decided on September 12th to 
abandon New York City, the detachments at the 
several points above were ordered to guard the land- 
ings until Putnam, who was to superintend the removal 
of all the troops and stores from the city, had finished 
his task. 

About eleven o'clock on Sunday morning, September 
15th, Putnam, while busily occupied in making the 
final preparations for the evacuation of the city, heard 
a distant roar of guns. In all possible haste he mounted 
bis horse and started for the place of action. The 
sound of the cannonading .seemed to come from the 
vicinity of Kip's Bay. While speeding thitherward, 
he met Washington on Murray Hill. The Commander- 
in-chief had also heard the booming and in great alarm 
had ridden from his new head(juarters at the Morris 
(Jumel) mansion on Harlem Heights. Washington 
and Putnam, each of whom had been accompanied by 
officers, led the way at full gallop to the front. There 
they found to their great surprise and mortification 
that the men of the different brigades, stationed along 
the East River shore, were fleeing before the advance 
of the British, who, luider cover of fire from their 
frigates, had landed at the foot of Thirty-fourth Street. 
The American generals made every exertion to rally 
the runaways. " Take to the wall ! Take to the 
cornfield! " shouted Washington, as he quickly rode in 
among the retreating men and tried to face them about. 
But his efforts to stop the fugitives were futile and. in 
indignation at their cowardice, he lashed some of them 
over the shoulders with his cane, and demanded 



i-^i A Forced Retreat 3^9 

whether these were the soldiers with whom he was to 
defend America. The anflinching general was at last 
so exposed to the oncoming enemy that, according to 
a contemporary- account, " his attendants to extrieate 
him out of his hazardoas situation caught the bridle of 
his horse and gave him a different direction." 

The fearless Putnam had made an equally bold and 
spirited attempt to rally the panic-stricken men. On 
finding that a stand against the British was impossible 
at Kip's Bay. and that the soldiers of the lower posts 
were also retreating in mad confusion, he decided, with 
characteristic promptitude, upon a daring manoeuvre. 
He purposed to dash back, from Murray Hill into the 
city and extricate Silliman's brigade, Knox's artillery- 
men, and the other troops there that were in imminent 
peril of being cut off by the enemy. Hezekiah Mun- 
scll of Wadsworth's brigade, one of the fugitives from 
the foot of East Twenty-third Street, who joined re- 
treating comrades on the main road that led towards 
Harlem Heights, caught a glimpse of the speeding 
general. 

" We sooa reached the main roaul which oar troops were 
travelling," says Mansell, "and the first conspicuoos person I 
met was Gen. E^itnam. He was making his way towards New 
York when all were going from it. Where he was going I coold 
not conjecture thoogh I afterwards learned he was going after 
his men." * 

Aide-de-camp Burr, whom Putnam had left in the 
city, had already realised that the troops would be 

caught in a trap, if the enemy succeeded in extending 
the lines across Manhattan Island, and he had therefore 
assumed the responsibility of starting them along. 



* History of Ancient Windsor, Conn, p. 715. 



310 Israel Putnam [1776 

Putnam was glad enough to find that something had 
been done to save the men from their extreme danger, 
and he spurred his horse forward to overtake them. 
He came up to his sweltering troops while they were 
toiling under the hot sun along the west side of the 
Island, Encouraged by his inspiring presence, the 
belated soldiers redoubled their heroic efforts to push 
through the woods and lanes in order to escape the 
British. David Humphreys, Adjutant in the Second 
Connecticut Regiment of Militia on this trying march, 
writes of Putnam thus : 

" I had frequent opportunities that day of beholding him, for 
the purpose of issuing orders, and encouraging the troops, 
flying on his horse covered with foam, wherever his presence 
was most necessary. Without his extraordinary exertions the 
guards must have been inevitably lost, and it is probable the 
entire corps would have been cut in pieces. When we were 
not far from Bloomingdale, an Aid-de-camp [Burr] came from 
him at full speed, to inform that a column of British infantry 
was descending upon our right. Our rear was soon fired upon, 
and the Colonel of our regiment [Jabez Thompson], whose 
order was just communicated for the front to file oiif to the left, 
was killed on the spot. With no other loss we joined the army, 
after dark, on the Heights of Harlem." 

It was British over-confidence that gave Putnam and 
his men the opportunity to escape from New York. 
Howe thought that the early morning movements 
against the American detachment at Kip's Bay had 
immediately cleared the city of every rebel, and so he 
felt no haste in drawing his lines across the island. 
He and his principal officers stopped for rest and le- 
freshment at the Murray country-seat, which stood at 
about the corner of Park Avenue and Thirty-sixth 
Street. Dr. James Thacher, the contemporary patriot, 
tells this interesting story in his Military Journal : 



1776] A Forced Retreat 311 

"Most fortunately, the British generals, seeing no prospect 
of engaging our troops, halted their own, and repaired to the 
house of Mr. Robert Murray [father of L,indley Murray, the 
grammarian], a Quaker and friend of our cause ; Mrs. Murray 
treated them with cake and wine, and they were induced to 
tarry two hours or more, Governor Tryon frequently joking 
her about her American friends. By this happy incident. 
General Putnam, by continuing his march, escaped a rencounter 
with a greatly superior force, which must have proved fatal to 
his whole part}-. Ten minutes, it is said, would have been 
sufficient for the eneni}- to have secured the road at the turn, 
and entirely cut off General Putnam's retreat. It has since be- 
come almost a common saying among our officers, that Mrs. 
Murray saved this part of the American army." 

The line of Putnam's successful retreat seems to have 
been from Bayard's Hill Fort on Grand Street across 
the country to Monument Lane (Greenwich Avenue), 
which led to the obelisk erected in honour of General 
Wolfe and others, at a point on Fifteenth Street a little 
west of Eighth Aventie. The lane there joined with 
an irregular road running on the line of Eighth 
Avenue, known afterwards as the Abingdon or Fitz- 
Roy Road, as far as Forty-second or -third Street. 
From here Putnam's troops kept west of the Blooming- 
dale road, and finall}', taking the road at some point 
above Seventieth Street, pushed on to Harlem 
Heights.* On their arrival there they were received 
with great rejoicing, for " before our brigades came 
in," says Humphreys, " we were given up for lost by 
all our friends." 

The condition of the patriotic troops, as they lay on 
their arms under the open sky on the night following 
the retreat to Harlem Heights, was disheartening 

* Memoirs of Long Island Historical Society, vol. iii., p. 238. 



312 Israel Putnam [1776 

indeed. Greatly exhausted after their long march, 
exposed to a heavy shower during the evening, and 
chilled by a cold autumn wind that blew with much 
violence, the soldiers suffered extreme physical discom- 
fort in addition to their depression of spirits in having 
been driven precipitously from the works upon which 
they had spent much labour. It seemed probable that 
on the next morning the British would follow up their 
success. Notwithstanding all the gloom and apparent 
hopelessness that prevailed among the troops, the Am- 
erican generals could not but trust that in case of an 
attack there were many in camp who would " act like 
men," as the Commander-in-chief earnestly hoped, 
"and show themselves worthy of the blessings of 
freedom." 

It was necessary to keep a sharp lookout on the enemy, 
and for this purpose Washington, early on the morn- 
ing of September i6th, sent out a party of one hundred 
and twenty Rangers under the command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Thomas Knowlton. This small body of select 
troops, consisting of volunteers from the New England 
regiments, had been organised by Knowlton since the 
battle of Tong Island, and was similar to the partisan 
corps which Putnam himself had led in the French and 
Indian War. The Rangers advanced under cover of 
the woods and scouted along the westerly side near the 
Hudson River until they encountered the enemy's 
pickets stationed near One Hundred and Fourth Street. 
A detachment of British Light Infantr}^ numbering 
upwards of three hundred, responded to the alarm from 
the outpost and began a sharp skirmish with the 
" audacious rebels." Knowlton and his men bravely 
held their ground against superior numbers, but at 
length were forced to retreat. They were closely pur- 



1776] A Forced Retreat 313 

sued by the enemy, who, in high glee over the success 
in driving back their adversaries, continued to follow 
as far as the hill where Grant's tomb now stands, 
or the elevation known as " Claremont. " There the 
King's Light Troops halted and, in derision of the 
fleeing provincials, " sounded their bugle horns as is 
usual after a fox-chase." The insulting notes were 
heard in the American camp, across the " Hollow 
Way." Says Adjutant- General Reed, who, like many 
another patriot, was stirred by the contemptuous bugle 
blast from the Claremont height, " I never felt such a 
sensation before — it seemed to crown our disgrace." * 

The main army of Americans was already in readi- 
ness for action, for from the moment that the first sound 
of distant .skirmishing fell on the ears of Washington 
that morning, he had made rapid preparations to resist 
any attack that the enemy might make upon his camp. 
Greene's division, as a strong advanced guard, occu- 
pied a position between One Hundred and Twenty- 
seventh Street and One Hundred and Thirty-third 
Street, and so overlooked the Hollow Way ; Put- 
nam's division was farther north, between One Hun- 
dred and Thirty-third Street and One Hundred and 
Forty-seventh Street; and Spencer's division was im- 
mediately in front of Washington's headquarters at 
the Morris House. Intrenchments were being hastily 
thrown up across Harlem Heights, along the line of 
One Hundred and Forty-seventh Street. 

The appearance of British troops on the Claremont 
hill naturally led Washington to think that an attempt 
was about to be made to carry his position by storm. 



* H. P. Johnston's Battle of Harlem Heights contains a 
valuable collection of original documents relating to the battle. 



314 Israel Putnam [1776 

Knowlton's Rangers, however, arrived with the news 
that the hostile force was only about three hundred 
strong and was separated nearly a mile from the main 
body of the British army. The military instincts of 
Washington recognised at once the opportunity to 
make a movement which, if successful, would inspirit 
his despondent troops. He planned to entrap the 
British Light Infantry by drawing them down into the 
Hollow Way and cutting off their retreat. According 
to this project, Colonel Knowlton and his Rangers, to- 
gether with three companies of Virginia riflemen under 
the conmiand of Major Leitch, were to try to get in the 
rear of the enemy, while other detachments made a 
feint in front of the hill and induced them to advance 
into the hollow. Thus the British would be caught 
between two fires and compelled to surrender. Wash- 
ington communicated the plan to Putnam, who, familiar 
with such strategy by long experience in Indian war- 
fare, assisted with much enthusiasm in ordering out the 
parties to effect the proposed nranoeuvre. " General 
Putnam," relates Oliver Burnham, one of the Rangers, 
" came up to Colonel Knowlton and directed him to 
take the left flank." While the men under Knowlton 
and his fellow-officer I^eitch moved circuitously around 
the British, the other party, composed of about one 
hundred and fifty volunteers from Nixon's brigade of 
Greene's division, under lyieutenant-Colonel Crary, 
advanced into the Hollow Way. 

"This took effect," says Washingtou in describing the en- 
gagement which followed, and which is known as the Battle of 
Harlem Heights, " as I wished on the part of the enemy. On 
the appearance of our party in front, they immediately ran down 
the hill, took possession of some fences and bushes, and a smart 
firing began, but at too great a distance to do much execution 



1776] A Forced Retreat 315 

on either side. The parties under Colonel Knowlton and 
Major Leitch unluckily began their attack too soon, as it was 
rather in flank than in rear. In a little time Major Leitch was 
brought off wounded, having received three balls through his 
side ; and, in a short time after, Colonel Knowlton got a wound, 
which proved mortal. The men, however, persevered, and con- 
tinued the engagement with the greatest resolution. Finding 
that they wanted a support, I advanced part of Colonel Griffith's 
and Colonel Richardson's Maryland regiments, with some de- 
tachments from the eastern regiments who were nearest the 
place of action. These troops charged the enemy with great 
intrepidity, and drove them from the wood into the plain, and 
were pushing them from thence, having silenced their fire in a 
great measure, when I judged it prudent to order a retreat, 
fearing the enemy, as I have since found was really the case, 
were sending a large body to support their party." 

The " plain " which Washington mentions as the 
place where the British attempted to make a stand in 
falling back before the impetuous charge of the Ameri- 
cans, was a buckwheat field, near the present grounds 
of Columbia University and Barnard College. For 
nearly two hours the fighting raged here on Morning- 
side Heights. It was during this stage of the battle 
that Washington ordered out additional troops. Among 
them were the very militiamen who had been panic- 
stricken the day before at Kip's Bay, but they now 
redeemed themselves by gallant conduct. Eighteen 
hundred Americans in all took part in the battle. Put- 
nam and some of the principal officers joined in the 
" smart action," so the contemporary records tell us, 
" and behaved nobly." " By the spirited conduct of 
General Putnam and Colonel Reed, the Adjutant- 
General," reports General Greene, who was also one 
of the heroes in the fight, " our people advanced upon 
the plain ground without cover, and attacked them and 



3i6 Israel Putnam [1776 

drove them back." Reed himself wrote soon after the 
battle, in a letter to his wife : 

" I suppose many Persons will think it was rash & imprudent 
for Officers of our Rank to go into such an action (Genl. Put- 
nam, Gen. Green, many of the General's [Washington's] 
family — Mr. Tilghman [Washington's aide-de-camp] &c., were 
in it), but it was really done to animate the Troops who were 
quite dispirited & would not go into Danger unless their officers 
led the Way." 

The hot engagement was just such an one as Putnam 
delighted in, and his personal exertions and bravery 
did much towards emboldening the men. The enemy 
" met," to quote General Greene again, " with a very 
different kind of reception from what they did the day 
before" at Kip's Bay. The British Light Infantry, 
although reinforced in the battle of Harlem Heights, 
could not hold their ground before their opponents and 
were compelled, as General George Clinton, another 
American ofiicer who was present, says, " to fall back 
into an Orchard, from thence across a Hollow, and up 
another Hill not far distant from their own Lines," 
and now the Americans followed in close pursuit and 
" enjoyed to the full," in the apt words of a recent 
writer, " the novel sensation of a fox-chase, in which 
they did not personate the fox! " * A large column 
of the British Reserve, however, was observed to be 
advancing to the aid of the fleeing troops and at this 
juncture, about three o'clock in the afternoon, came 
Washington's orders for his men to return. So exhil- 
arating had been the experience of chasing the red- 
coats that " it was with difficulty," states Reed, " our 



* W. R. Shepherd, in "The Battle of Harlem Heights" in 
Half Moon Series. 



1776] A Forced Retreat 317 

men could be brought to retreat." But at length, as 
we learn from the aide-de-camp whom Washington sent 
with the message to retreat, the patriot troops " gave 
a Hurra! and left the field in good order." 

The British had lost about one hundred and seventy- 
five men, killed or wounded. The American casualties 
were a little less. The death of Knowlton was a heavy 
personal blow to Putnam. That trusty and gallant 
soldier, to whom the General was deeply attached, had 
been willing " to serve either by water or by land, by 
night or by day," and had never been known to say 
"Go on, boys ! " but always " Come on, boys ! " 
Leitch died of his wounds a few days after Knowlton. 
The battle, although it cost the American army these 
two valued officers, " was attended " — to use Wash- 
ington's expression, — "with many salutary conse- 
quences." Reed bears testimony to the change it 
made in the American army. " I hope," he said, " its 
effects will be lasting." The effects were more defi- 
nitely stated by General George Clinton, who speaks 
of the battle thus: " It has animated our Troops, gave 
them new spirits, and erazed every bad Impression, the 
Retreat from Long Island, &c. had left on their minds, 
they find they are able, with inferior Numbers, to drive 
their Enemy, and think of nothing now but Conquest. ' ' 

Realising the necessity of being prepared for a re- 
taliatory attack by the British, Washington took special 
precautions for guarding the camp on the night after 
the battle. Putnam was directed to command on the 
right flank along the Hollow Way, and Spencer was to 
watch the ridge, as far up as headquarters. " Should 
the enemy attempt to force the pass to-night," was one 
of the orders, " General Putnam is to apply to General 
Spencer for a reinforcement." 



3i8 Israel Putnam [1776 

No attack, however, was made by the British on this 
night of September i6th. In fact, nearly a month 
passed away before the enemy made any important 
movement. Meanwhile Washington urged on the 
work of building the defences which had been begun 
on the day of the battle of Harlem Heights. They 
consisted of three lines of intrenchments and redoubts; 
the first line running along One Hundred and Forty- 
seventh Street, the second at about One Hundred and 
Fifty-third Street, and the third, which was never com- 
pleted, at One Hundred and Sixty-first Street. Ac- 
cording to the orders issued on September 26th, the 
troops under Putnam were stationed in front of the 
first line, and those under Spencer in the rear of it. 

On the plains between the American and British 
armies lay a quantity of wheat, corn, and hay. A 
portion of this was successfully carried off one day by 
a detachment under the command of Putnam, who was 
always ready to undertake such a venture in the vicin- 
ity of the enemy. Colonel John Chester mentions the 
expedition in a letter from the American camp, dated 
October 3rd. 

" Not long since Genl. Putnam," he writes, " with a party of 
1600 or 1800 men as covering party, went on to Harlem plains & 
with a number of waggons brought off a large quantity of Grain, 
but not the whole, for just at Day break the Enemy had manned 
their lines & were seen in column advancing ; as our party were 
not more than half theirs it was thought best to retreat which 
was done in good order & without a skirmish." 

The Americans had not abandoned the project for 
obstructing the Hudson River with sunken ships; and 
they improved the opportunity, while the enemy re- 
mained quiet, to complete the cheva7ix-de-frise which 



1776] A Forced Retreat 319 

Putnam had originally proposed. It stretched from 
JefFre3^'s Hook at Fort Washington to the north- 
ernmost redoubt at Fort Lee. Unfortunate!)' it proved 
of little service, because the rapid current, changing 
with every turn of the tide and continually wrenching 
the work, so weakened it that it gave way before the 
weight and momentum of several British war-ships, 
which sailed up the river on October 9th. Within a 
week after that date, scouts reported in the American 
camp that a large hostile force in flat-boats had passed 
up the East Riv^er through Hell Gate and was landing 
at Throg's Neck, near the town of Westchester, about 
nine miles distant from Harlem Heights. Washington 
hastily summoned a Council-of-War. It was an interest- 
ing gathering of eager officers. Putnam was there, 
and I,ee, who had recently arrived from South Caro- 
lina, and Stirling and Sullivan, both of whom had just 
been exchanged after being prisoners of the British. 
All present at the council were agreed that the enemy 
must have given up anj^ plans for a direct attack on 
the American position at Harlem Heights, and that 
they were doubtless trying to get in the rear by an ad- 
vance across Westchester County to the Hudson River, 
where the men-of-war, which had forced a passage 
through the chevaux-de-frise, lay anchored. It was 
decided by the American officers that, in order to 
escape being hemmed in, their own troops must evacu- 
ate Manhattan Island, except Fort Washington, which 
Greene, who had general command of the post, con- 
sidered impregnable and of great value for future 
operations. 

To forestall the British manoeuvres, Washington and 
his generals broke camp at once and hurried, with the 
main army, northward towards White Plains. On the 



320 Israel Putnam [1776 

march thither, earthworks were thrown up at every 
prominent point along the west bank of the River Bronx 
and a small chain of communicating posts was estab- 
lished throughout the entire distance. During that fort- 
night, the energetic services of Putnam were of great 
help to the Commander-in-chief in making the remarka- 
ble advance movement whereby the American army suc- 
ceeded in occupying a position which commanded the 
roads to the Hudson River and to New England. 
Here, at White Plains, were constructed intrenchments, 
partly in double line, which ran along hilly ground. 
The left flank was protected by a mill-pond, and the 
right by a bend of the River Bronx. Four divisions of 
the army, numbering (with the troops from Kings- 
bridge and New Jersey) about thirteen thousand men, 
were posted behind these defences. In the rear was 
higher ground, which commanded the passes through 
the hills by the Peekskill and Upper Tarrytown Roads, 
and afforded an ultimate position in case of a retreat 
from the first. Beyond the River Bronx rose Chatter- 
ton Hill, which presented a steep front to a hostile force. 
Meanwhile, the British in their progress from Throg's 
Neck had been delayed at different points. They had 
lost nearly ten days waiting for reinforcements. The 
hard march across the rough country east of the 
Bronx was made more difficult by frequent encounters 
with the American advance guards. At last, on Octo- 
ber 28th, the British troops, thirteen thousand in num- 
ber, arrived in front of White Plains. On that very 
morning, Washington, Putnam, Lee, Heath, and other 
oflScers had ridden out of camp to examine the heights 
in the rear of the American works. A messenger 
brought the news in hot haste to them that the enemy 
had appeared ; and the generals on the gallop back to 



1776] A Forced Retreat 321 

their lines beheld an exciting scene — the British army, 
equal in size to their own, forming in heavy columns 
to make an attack. 

It seemed at first as if the enemy intended to make 
an assault in front, but their troops were soon seen to 
be filing off towards Chatterton Hill to dislodge the 
American detachment under Col. Rufus Putnam, the 
engineer, who had been sent to mark out a line of de- 
fence on the rock}' brow. Washington immediately 
forwarded thither a reinforcement under General Mc- 
Dougall, who was accompanied by Captain Alexander 
Hamilton with two pieces of artillery. Engineer 
Putnam describes what took place when the British 
advanced : 

"I had just arrived on Chatterton hill in order to throw up 
some works when they [the British] hove in sight. As soon as 
they discovered us, they commenced a severe cannonade, but 
without any effect of consequence. General McDougall arrived 
about this time, with his brigade, from Burtis', and observing 
the British to be crossing the Bronx below in large bodies in 
order to attack us, our troops were posted in a very advan- 
tageous position to receive them. The British were twice re- 
pulsed in their advance. At length, however, their numbers 
were increased so that they were able to turn our right flank. 
We lost many men, but from information afterwards received, 
there was reason to believe that they lost more than we did. 
The wall and stone fence behind which our troops were posted 
proved as fatal to the British as the rail-fence and grass hung 
on it did at Charlestown, June 17, 1775."* 

When the American flank was being turned on Chat- 
teron Hill and the Hessians were boldly charging up 
the face of the steep ascent, Washington ordered Gen- 
eral Putnam forward with a reinforcement, but these 

*MSS. Memoirs of Rufus Putnam, in Library of Marietta 
College, Marietta, Ohio. 



322 Israel Putnam [1776 

troops were " not able," as one of the soldiers relates,* 
" to get up in time to give the necessary assistance " 
before the Americans were forced from the hill. Put- 
nam and his men, however, rendered efficient help to 
the retreating soldiers by firing from behind trees and 
fences, and thus covering their return to the main 
army. The American loss amounted to about thirty 
prisoners and one hundred and thirty killed and 
wounded. The British casualties were nearly one hun- 
dred greater. 

The " Battle of White Plains," so called, had been 
fought on Chatterton Hill, for Howe, still fearful of the 
consequences of a front attack on the American lines, 
waited for reinforcements, and after their arrival, he 
was prevented by a storm from bringing on an engage- 
ment which he planned for October 31st. That night 
Washington took advantage of the delay and withdrew 
all his force to North Castle Heights, where he could 
occupy an impregnable position. Oi November 5th, 
the British suddenly broke camp at White Plains and 
moved off towards the Hudson River, a manoeuvre 
which could " not be acounted for with any degree of 
certainty " by Washington and his generals. It was 
thought that the enemy might still have in view their 
original plan and, by a sudden wheel, try to accomplish 
it. Detachments were sent out to observe their move- 
ments and to harass them as much as possible. It was 
soon evident that Howe, instead of making any further 
attempt to hem in the American army, would either 
attack Fort Washington or cross into New Jersey and 
advance against Philadelphia. To thwart the British 
purpose, Putnam, with several thousand men, was dis- 



* Force, American Archives, Fifth Series, vol. ii, p. 1284. 



1776] A Forced Retreat 323 

patched from North Castle Heights into New Jersey. 
General Mifflin, writing from Peekskill on November 
loth, says : 

"General Lord Stirling passed King's Ferry yesterday after- 
noon to New Jersey with twelve hundred men. Colonel Hand 
is now embarking for Jersey with one thousand ; General Bell, 
with seventeen hundred, is here and preparing to embark; the 
whole under the command of General Putnam. General Wash- 
ington is expected here this morning. The enemy's main body 
was encamped yesterday between Dobb's Ferry and Colonel 
Phillips's Mills. If they attempt anything in New Jersey we 
shall be able to face them and I trust drub them." 

With the troops under his immediate command, 
Putnam, after crossing the Hudson, moved down the 
west bank of the river and encamped near Hackensack. 
Meanwhile Washington stationed Heath at Peekskill 
with three thousand men to guard the entrance to the 
Highlands and left lyee at North Castle with seven 
thousand men. The latter general had orders to co- 
operate promptly with the Commander-in-chief, as soon 
as the British designs were more definitely known. 
On November 12th, Washington, after reconnoitring 
the posts in the Highlands, passed over the Hudson 
River into New Jersey and within a few hours reached 
Fort Lee, the headquarters of Greene, who was in gen- 
eral command of the fortifications in that vicinity. On 
account of the recent movements of the enemy, Wash- 
ington had been inclined to think that it would not be 
prudent to hazard the men and stores at Fort Washing- 
ton, which stood on the eastern bank of the Hudson, 
directly opposite Fort Lee. Several days before his 
arrival at the latter place, he had written to Greene 
about abandoning Fort Washington, " but as you are 
on the spot," he had said in his letter to that officer, 



324 Israel Putnam [1776 

" I leave it to you to give such orders, as to evacuating 
Mount Washington, as you may j udge best. ' ' Greene, 
to whose discretion the withdrawal was thus left, be- 
lieved that the fort could be held, and he increased the 
garrison under Colonel Robert Magaw to nearly three 
thousand men. Putnam appears to have approved 
Greene's course. The disaster, which Washington 
feared, was to follow soon after the arrival of the Com- 
mander-in-chief at Fort lyce, for the enemy were prepar- 
ing to attack Fort Washington with an overwhelming 
force. On November 15th, a message came from Gen- 
eral Howe, demanding the surrender of the garrison. 
Colonel Magaw returned a spirited refusal to the British 
commander, and sent an express to the officers at Fort 
Lee with a copy of the letter. Greene and Putnam 
immediately took boat to cross the river to Fort Wash- 
ington and encourage the men.- It happened that 
Washington had ridden from Fort Lee to Hackensack 
that day. On learning that the garrison under Magaw 
had been summoned to surrender, he returned at once, 
as we learn from his own story : 

"Immediately upon receiving an account of this transaction, 
I came from Hackinsac to this place [Fort Lee] and had partly 
crossed the North River when I met General Putnam and Gen- 
eral Greene, who were just returning from thence [Fort Wash- 
ington], and informed me that the troops were in high spirits 
and would make a good defence ; and, it being late at night, I 
returned." 

The anxious night wore away, and in the morning 
the British approached to begin the attack on the 
various field fortifications of which Fort Washington 
was the citadel. The three intrenched lines of Harlem 
Heights, crossing Manhattan Island, were to the south. 



1776] A Forced Retreat 325 

These defences seemed to be in danger. Thither the 
chief American officers went : 

"General Washington, General Putnam, General Mercer, 
and myself," says General Greene, " went to the island to de- 
termine what was best to be done ; but just at the instant we 
stepped on board the boat the enemy made their appearance on 
the hill where the Monday action [battle of Harlem Heights on 
Monday, September i6, 1776] was, and began a severe cannon- 
ade with several field pieces. Our guards soon fled, the enemy 
advanced up to the second line [at One Hundred and Forty- 
Seventh Street]. This was done while we were crossing the 
river and getting upon the hill [the old headquarters at the 
Morris House, from which place the American Generals watched 
the enemy's approach]. The enemy made several marches to 
the right and to the left — I suppose to reconnoitre the fortifica- 
tions and lines. There we all stood in a very awkward situa- 
tion. As the disposition was made and the enemy advancing, 
we durst not attempt to make any new disposition ; indeed, we 
saw nothing amiss. We all urged his Excellency to come off. 
I offered to stay. General Putnam did the same, and so did 
General Mercer ; but his Excellency thought it best for us all 
to come off together, which we did." * 

Having re-crossed the Hudson River to the western 
side, Washington, Putnam, Greene, Mercer, and other 
American officers took their stand on the brow of the 
Palisades, whence they watched with intense solicitude 
the assault upon the works. The British were closing 
in upon Fort Washington from different directions. 
Greene continues with an account of what he and his 
companions saw and heard from their new position : 

"The enemy came up Harlem River and landed a party at 
headquarters [Morris House], which was upon the back of our 
people in the lines. A disorderly retreat soon took place ; 



* Letter to General Henry Knox, quoted in Noab Brooks's 
Life of General Knox. 



326 Israel Putnam [1776 

-without much firing the people retreated into the fort. On the 
north side of the fort there was a very heavy fire for a long 
while ; and as they had the advantage of the ground, I appre- 
hend the enemy's loss must be great. After the troops retreated 
into the fort, very few guns were fired. The enemy approached 
within small-arm fire of the lines and sent in a flag, and the 
garrison capitulated in an hour." 

Thus Fort Washington with its valuable stores and 
more than two thousand men passed into British hands, 
but the capture had cost the enemy nearly five hun- 
dred men in killed and wounded. The American 
generals made preparations at once to evacuate Fort 
Lee, for they realised that it was useless to attempt to 
obstruct the passage of the Hudson River with only 
one fort, and they expected that the British would ad- 
vance without delay against that stronghold. But be- 
fore all the ammunition and stores could be removed, 
the enemy were found, on the morning of November 
20th, to have crossed the river in large numbers, with 
the evident intention of forming a line across from the 
place of their landing, on the west bank of the Hudson, 
to Hackensack Bridge, and thereby hemming in the 
whole garrison at Fort Lee between the Hudson and 
Hackensack Rivers. 

"However, we were lucky enough to gain the Bridge before 
them," writes Washington, "by which means we saved our 
men, but were obliged to leave some hundred barrels of flour, 
most of our cannon, and a considerable parcel of tents and 
baggage." 

Putnam, Greene, Stirling, and Mercer were the prin- 
cipal officers who accompanied Washington in the dis- 
tressing retreat which now began when, with less than 
four thousand men, he fell back before the British. 
On November 21st, the Americans crossed the Passaic 



1776] A Forced Retreat 327 

River and marched south-westward to Newark. Here 
they remained five days, the Commander-in-chief send- 
ing meanwhile repeated messages to Lee, who was in 
charge of the troops at North Castle, to bring on bis 
part of the army. But that arrogant General was 
scheming to .supersede Washington in the chief com- 
mand and dallied in obeying orders. The approach 
of the enemy compelled the Americans, on Thursday 
morning, November 28th, to leave Newark for New 
Brunswick. 

Three days later, Cornwallis with his columns came 
up to New Brunswick in the pursuit ; and the Ameri- 
cans, after a lively skirmish, broke down the bridge 
over the Raritan and continued their retreat to Prince- 
ton. By this time the patriotic force with Washington 
had dwindled to three thousand men. 

"The enemy have pressed us very hard from place to place," 
narrates Greene, who had travelled at Putnam's side most of the 
way on this discouraging march. "The time for which our 
troops were engaged expired, and they went off by whole bri- 
gades, notwithstanding the enemy lay within two or three hours' 
march of us, and our force remaining not near half equal to 
theirs. The virtue of the Americans is put to a trial : if they 
turn out with spirit all will go on well ; but if the militia refuses 
their aid, the people must submit to the servitude they deserve. 
But I think it is impossible that Americans can behave so pol- 
troonish. , . , The enemy's footsteps are marked with 
destruction wherever they go. There is no difference made 
between the Whigs and Tories ; all fare alike. They take the 
clothes off on the people's back. The distress they spread 
wherever they go exceeds all description." * 

From Princeton to Trenton was the next move by 
the hard-pressed Americans. Putnam does not appear 

* Life of Major-General Nathanael Greene, by G.W. Greene, 
vol. i, p. 281. 



328 Israel Putnam [1776] 

to have been with the main army at this stage of the 
forced retreat, for Washington, on arriving at the latter 
place, addressed a letter to him,* with instructions to 
bring on the detachment under his command. Putnam 
soon arrived at Trenton and, bj' December 8th, all the 
American troops had gained the opposite side of the 
Delaware, Putnam with his usual bravery " being 
among the last of the fugitive army to cross the river." 
The security of Philadelphia was Washington's great 
object. 

"If we can keep the enemy from entering Philadelphia," he 
said, in writing to Congress at this time that tried men's souls, 
" and keep the communication by water open for supplies, we 
may yet make a stand, if the country will come to our assist- 
ance till our new levies can be collected. If the measure of 
fortifying the city should be adopted, some skilful person 
should immediately view the grounds, and begin to trace out 
the lines and works. I am informed there is a French engineer 
of eminence [Kosciusko] in Philadelphia at this time ; if so, he 
will be the most proper." 

Washington had just penned the foregoing words 
when he received important news from Philadelphia : 

"General Mifflin is this moment come up," he added in his 
letter, "and tells me that all the military stores yet remain in 
Philadelphia. This makes the immediate fortifying of the city 
so necessary that I have desired General Mifflin to return to 
take charge of the stores ; and have ordered Major-General 
Putnam immediately down to superintend the works and give 
the necessary directions." 

It was December 9th, when Putnam was ordered to 
take the chief command at Philadelphia. He hastened 
forward to that city with the greatest possible speed. 

* The original letter from Washington to Putnam, dated 
Trenton, Dec. 3, 1776, is owned by Mrs. Mary Putnam Bos- 
worth, of New York City. 




CHAPTER XXII 

AT PHILADELPHIA AND PRINCETON 

1776-1777 



HE condition of affairs at Philadelphia 
in the early winter of 1776 is described 
by Putnam immediately after he arrived 
to assume command of the city. 



"All things in this city," he wrote to Washington on De- 
cember 12th, "remain in confusion, for want of men to put 
them in order. The citizens are generally with you. The 
Continental recruits are clothing and arming as fast as possible, 
and are employed on guard and fatigue duty, for which there is 
scarce a relief. A party are now going to the Jerseys, to bring 
off all the craft out of the creeks. 

" The Council of Safety have this day issued orders for every 
able-bodied man to be enrolled and put to work in throwing 
up the lines. I have reconnoitred the ground round the city, 
in company with General Mifflin, and the French Engineers, 
who are preparing a draft of the lines, which we are to begin 
to-morrow. The principal stores are removed to Christiana 
Bridge." * 

On the same day that he dictated the foregoing let- 
ter, Putnam established martial law in the city where 



* American Archives, Fifth Series, vol. iii, p. 1180, 
329 



33^ Israel Putnam [1776- 

confusion reigned in this dark hour of the struggle for 
American independence : 

"The late advances by the enemy towards this place oblige 
the General to request the inhabitants of this city not to appear 
in the streets after ten o'clock at night, as he has given orders 
to the piquet-guard to arrest and confine all persons who may 
be found in the streets after that hour. Physicians and others 
having essential business, are directed to call at Head-quarters 
for passes." 

In consequence of a rumour that Philadelphia was to 
be burned on account of the threatening capture of the 
city by the British, Putnam issued the following : 

" Head-Quarters, Philadei^phia, 
December 13, 1776. 
" The General has been informed that some weak or wicked 
men have maliciously reported that it is the design and wish 
of the offic.ers and men in the Continental Army to burn and 
destroy the city of Philadelphia. To counteract such a false 
and scandalous report, he thinks it necessary to inform the 
inhabitants who propose to remain in the city, that he has re- 
ceived positive orders from the honourable Continental Con- 
gress, and from his Excellency General Washington, to secure 
and protect the city of Philadelphia against all invaders and 
enemies. The General will consider every attempt to burn the 
city of Philadelphia as a crime of the blackest dye, and will, 
without ceremony, punish capitally any incendiary who shall 
have the hardness and cruelty to attempt it." 

The citizens in general, with the exception of the 
Quakers, were called by Putnam into military service. 
Although he exempted Quakers, the patriotic General 
had little patience with the peculiar tenets of these 
persons who were opposed on principle to military duty, 
" Drones of societj'-, " he called them in an outspoken 



1777] At Philadelphia and Princeton 33^ 

letter to Governor William lyivingston of New Jersey, 
in which he expressed strong doubt as to the wisdom 
©fallowing them " to remain unmolested." But any- 
other course than that which Putnam reluctantly 
adopted would only have tended to disgust the moder- 
ate men of either side, without bringing into service 
any valuable recruits, and so the General was obliged 
to forbear with the Quakers, repugnant as it was to his 
nature. His position was an exceedingly trying one, 
for many persons who were strongly disaffected towards 
the American cause, were ready to take advantage of 
any amnesty offered by the British Commander-in-chief. 
Putnam made a diligent use of his authority to appre- 
hend all delinquents and to exact personal service or 
levy proportionate fines. He exerted strenuous efforts 
to arouse all the inhabitants of Philadelphia to the 
necessity of repelling the expected approach of the 
enemy. The depreciation of the American currency 
in the alarming crisis was another matter to be dealt 
with, and Putnam announced that the refusal to accept 
the Continental money at its face value would be con- 
sidered criminal. 

The nervous timidity of the Continental Congress, in 
session at Philadelphia, is easily discernible in their acts 
during the gloomy period when the city was, beyond all 
question, the object of the enemy's movements. Major- 
General Putnam and Brigadier-General Mifflin, as we 
learn from the " Proceedings," were soon summoned 
to consult with Congress in regard to the adjournment 
of that deliberative body to some other place on account 
of the approach of the British army. The result of the 
conference is stated by Oliver Wolcott, one of the Con- 
necticut delegates, in a letter from Philadelphia, dated 
December 13th : 



Z2>^ Israel Putnam 



[1776- 



" The Congress, iipou the advice of Geuls. Putnam and 
Mifflin (who are now here to provide for the Protection of the 
Place), as well as the Result of their own Opinion, have ad- 
journed themselves to Baltimore in Maryland, about no miles 
from this City, as it was judged that the Council of America 
ought not to sit in a Place liable to be interrupted by the rude 
Disorder of Arms, so that I am at this moment going forward 
for that place. Whether the Army will succeed in their cruel 
Designs against this City, must be left to time to discover. 
Congress have ordered the General [Putnam] to defend it to the 
last extremity, and God grant that he may be successful in his 
exertions." * 

The removal of Congress from Philadelphia to Balti- 
more increased the alarm in the former city, and it was 
only by the watchfulness of the resolute Putnam that 
the loyalists were kept from making a serious out- 
break. Iia hastening preparations for the defence of 
Philadelphia the General overtaxed his strength, and 
his health, it is stated, "was for awhile impaired by 
his unrelaxed exertions." For a number of days he 
had to stay indoors. 

At midnight of December 24th, Putnam was aroused 
from slumber by the arrival of Adjutant-General Reed 
at his headquarters. This officer had come in haste 
from Bristol to confer with the General about furnish- 
ing troops for a southern diversion into New Jersey. 
Reed had received a letter from Washington, telling 
him of a contemplated movement on Christmas night 
against the Hessian force stationed at Trenton. For 
the accomplishment of this plan to cross the Delaware 
and surprise the enemy, Washington needed the co- 

* Memoirs of Long Island Historical Society, vol. iii. There 
is a similar letter by Robert Morris to Silas Deane in Stevens's 
Facsimiles 0/ 3ISS. in European Archives relating to America, 
vol. xiv. 



1777] At Philadelphia and Princeton 333 

operation of the several American divisions which were 
posted on the west bank of the river from Coryell's 
Ferry to Bristol. Reed and Cadwalader, the com- 
manding officers of the troops at the latter place, ex- 
pected to join Colonel Griffin on the opposite side of 
the Delaware, who, with two companies of Virginians 
and some militia, had been successful in driving a party 
of Hessians back to Mount Holly. While the united 
detachments of Americans, forming the right wing of 
the army occupied the attention of the enemy's posts 
below Trenton, Washington himself could advance 
with the main body of troops against the garrison in 
that town. This project seemed feasible, for the 
diminishing American army had been reinforced by a 
detachment under Gates from the Northern Depart- 
ment and by Sullivan with the troops belonging to Lee, 
who, on his way to join the Commander-in-chief, had 
been captured by the British while he was at an un- 
guarded inn. 

"Prepare and concert with Griffin," wrote Washington to 
Reed and Cadwalader, who were assigned to the southern 
operations in the movements which he holdly planned to dis- 
concert the enemy ; " attack as many of their posts as you pos- 
sibly can with a prospect of success ; the more we can attack 
at the same instant the more confusion we shall spread, and 
the greater good will result from it." 

But Reed and Cadwalader found that the proposed 
co-operation with Griffin was impracticable. In this 
emergency they decided to induce Putnam to cross the 
Delaware at Cooper's Ferry with such troops as he had, 
while the Philadelphia militia should make a similar 
movement at or near Bristol. 

And so Reed had come to Philadelphia, on the night 



334 Israel Putnam [1776- 

of December 24th, to confide to Putnam the secret plans 
for the attack on Trenton on Christmas night and to 
obtain his help in carrying out Washington's wishes in 
regard to a southern diversion. Putnam, who was re- 
covering from his recent illness, was ready to do all in 
his power to further the enterprise, and he thought 
that he could furnish the needed assistance. Reed ac- 
cordingly dispatched the following note to Cadwalader 
in the morning : 

" General Putnam has determined to cross the river with as 
many men as he can collect, which he says will be about 500 ; 
he is now mustering them and endeavouring to get Proctor's 
company of artillery to go with them. I wait to know what 
success he meets with, and the progress he makes ; but at all 
events I shall be with you this afternoon." 

But Putnam soon discovered indications that the 
Tory element in Philadelphia would rise during his 
absence ; and he, therefore, felt obliged to withhold 
the troops which he expected to forward. Before the 
arrival of Reed in the city, the General had sent his 
son Daniel, who had recently been appointed one of 
his aides-de-camp, with a message to Washington, re- 
porting his improved health and the progress of military 
affairs under his direction. 

With increased effort Putnam urged forward the 
work of building the defences which had been laid out 
from the Schuylkill River, covering the high ground 
around Germantown in an easterly direction to the 
Delaware River. He began to remove a large quantity 
of supplies from the city. Meanwhile he awaited in 
great suspense the news of the Trenton undertaking, 
which the Commander-in-chief had planned so cau- 
tiously. The weather on Christmas night had been 



1777] At Philadelphia and Princeton 335 

very inauspicious. Could it be that, in the blinding 
tempest of hail and sleet, driven by a fierce north-east 
wind, Washington had made his daring venture ? At 
last Putnam received the thrilling tidings of what had 
been accomplished ; how the chief commander, with 
twenty-five hundred men, unsupported by the other 
divisions of his army, had crossed the Delaw^are, despite 
the huge masses of floating ice which made the passage 
of the river so extremely dangerous ; how, in the teeth 
of the storm, the brave troops had pushed rapidly on 
towards Trenton, nine miles away ; how at dawn they 
had driven in the enemy's pickets at the point of the 
bayonet and entered the town by different roads ; how, 
after a quick, sharp skirmish, in which only two of their 
own number were killed, they had captured a thousand 
Hessians who, unsuspicious of the approach of the 
Americans, had been indulging in Christmas revels. 

The reality of this brilliant victory, which caused 
great rejoicing among all patriots, was made very vivid, 
a few days later, to the citizens of Philadelphia, for the 
Hessian prisoners, followed by the captured arms and 
banners, were marched through the streets of the city 
and the whole populace flocked to see them. This 
parade of triumph was doubtless intended to encourage 
the people and to show them that the dreaded Hessians 
could be conquered by the untrained troops of Amer- 
ica.* The Hessians, after being paraded, were con- 
ducted to the city barracks, which had been vacated by 
the American soldiers in accordance with Putnam's 
directions. " You are immedatly to remove your men 
out of the Barrok," was his characteristic misspelled 
order to his officers, ' ' to make room for the liashon 
Prisoners." 



* Stryker, The Battles of Trenton and Princeton. 



33^ Israel Putnam [1776- 

The prisoners were kept in the city about a week and 
then they were marched to Baltimore, where Congress 
was sitting. On New Year's Day, when they were still 
in Philadelphia, the Hessian officers were taken in a 
body to call on General Putnam. He received them 
very hospitably. " He shook hands with each of us," 
one of them has recorded in his journal, " and we all 
had to drink a glass of Madeira with him. " " This old 
gray-beard may be a good, honest man," the same 
writer comments, " but nobody but the rebels would 
have made him a general." * Criticism of the military 
rank of Putnam was not uncommon, even on the 
patriot side. From the moment of his arrival to take 
command in the city, certain fastidious Philadelphians 
had expressed great surprise that the unpolished 
Yankee fighter was ever made a general. 

At the time that the public rejoicings were breaking 
forth throughout the colonies over the Trenton victory, 
Washington was alert to retard the progress of the 
British, who were advancing to retaliate the loss of 
their Hessian force. After returning into Pennsyl- 
vania with the prisoners, he had again crossed the 
Delaware and occupied Trenton. On the near ap- 
proach of the enemy to this place, he had withdrawn 
his troops beyond the Assunpink, a small river which 
flows into the Delaware just below the town. So 
confident was Cornwallis of being able to entrap the 
Americans in this position, that he little suspected 
Washington's scheme against the British post at 
Princeton. The following hurried message from Ad- 
jutant-General Reed was written to Putnam a few 
minutes before the midnight march began: 



* Journal of the Regiment von Lossberg (Piel). 



1777] At Philadelphia and Princeton 337 

" East side of Trenton Creek, 
"January 2d, 1777, twelve o'clock at night. 
" Dear Generai, Putnam, — The enemy advanced upon us 
to-day. We came to the east side of the river or creek, which 
runs through Trenton, when it was resolved to make a forced 
march and attack the enemy in Princeton. In order to do this 
with the greatest security our baggage is sent off to Burlington. 
His Excellency begs you will march immediately forward with 
all the force you can collect at Crosswicks where you will find 
a very advantageous post ; your advanced party at Allentowt:. 
You will also send a good guard for our baggage wherever it 
may be. Let us hear from you as often as possible. We shall 
do the same by you. "Yours, 

"J. REED." 

In compliance with Washington's wishes, as com- 
municated by Reed, Putnam hastened forward with as 
many men as he could muster — seven or eight hundred 
in all. From his letters* to the Pennsylvania Council 
of Safety, written on the march, we learn that he was in 
Bristol on Januar3^ 5th. The next morning he crossed 
the Delaware and advanced to Bordentown, where he 
found a body of Continental militia and, with his force 
increased to about one thousand men, he proceeded to 
Trenton, which had already been evacuated by the 
British. Here Putnam received a letter from Wash- 
ington, describing the success at Princeton : 

" Pluckemin, 5 January, 1777. 

" Dear General, — Fortune has favored us in an attack on 
Princeton. General Howe advanced upon Trenton, which we 
evacuated in the evening of the 2d of this instant, and drew up 
the troops in the south side of Mill Creek, and continued in 
that position until dark, then marched for Princeton, which we 
reached next morning about nine o'clock. There were three 
regiments quartered there of the British troops, which we 

* These letters of Putnam are printed in the Pennsylvania 
Archives, vol, v. 



33^ Israel Putnam [1776- 

attacked and routed. The number of the killed, wounded, and 
taken prisoners amounts to about five or six hundred. We lost 
several officers and about thirty privates. General Mercer is 
badly wounded, if not mortally. After the action we imme- 
diately marched for this place. I shall remove from hence to 
Morristowu, there shall wait a few days and refresh the troops, 
during which time I shall keep a strict watch upon the enemy's 
motions. They appear to be panic-struck, and I am in some 
hopes of driving them out of the Jerseys. It is thought advis- 
able for you to march the troops under your command to Cross- 
wicks, and keep a strict watch upon the enemy in that quarter. 
If the enemy continue at Brunswick, you must act with great 
circumspection, lest you meet with a surprise. As we have 
made two successful attacks upon the enemy by way of surprise, 
they will be pointed with resentment and if there is any possi- 
bility of retaliating, they will attempt it. You will give out 
your strength to be twice as great as it is. Forward on all the 
baggage and scattered troops belonging to this division of the 
army, as soon as may be, 

" You will keep as many spies out as you will see proper. A 
number of horsemen, in the dress of the country, must be con- 
stantly going backwards and forwards for this purpose, and if 
you discover any motion of the enem)', which you can depend 
upon, and which you think of consequence, let me be informed 
thereof as soon as possible by express. 

" I am, dear General, yours, &c. 

" G. Washington." 

On January 8th, Putnam marched from Trenton to 
Crosswicks. A message from the Commander-in-chief 
reached him at the latter place, directing him to move 
forward with his men to Princeton. But Putnam ex- 
pected that the enemy would attempt to regain their 
lost position, and so he awaited the arrival of a rein- 
forcement from Philadelphia, for which he had sent. 
Soon another letter came from Washington, with orders 
to advance, and again the General delayed, thinking 
that he was justified in doing so, because of the 



1777] At Philadelphia and Princeton 339 

apparent necessity of obtaining a larger force, and of 
guarding, meanwhile, the route to Mount Holly. 
Washington, surprised that Putnam stayed at Cross- 
wicks, wrote to Reed from Morristown : 

" I very much approve of your visiting Genl. Putnam, as I 
cannot acc't for his remaining at Crosswicks instead of remov- 
ing to Princeton, as I have desired in several of my Letters. I 
would have him keep nothing at Princeton (except two or three 
days' provisions) but what can be moved off at an hour's warn- 
ing — in that case, if good Scouting Parties are kept constantly 
out, no possible damage can happen to the Troops under his 
Command ; who are to retreat, in case they are compelled to 
leave Princeton, towards the mountains, so as to form a junction 
with the army under my immediate Comujand. This will serve 
as a direction to him in removing the stores if any yet remain 
at Princeton. I would have no time lost in removing the Flour 
from the Mills on Millstone, least the Enemy should attempt 
& avail themselves of it. I would also have Genl. Putnam 
draw his Forage as much as possible from the Vicinity of 
Brunswick, that the Enemy may thereby be distressed." 

On January i5tli, the annoyed Commander-in-chief 
expressed himself thus in another letter to Reed : 

" Many days ago I wrote to Genl. Putnam supposing him to 
be at Princeton to have the stores rescued from the hands of 
the Militia who had borne them off, and had no doubt but he 
had done it. What in the name of Heaven can he be doinp. 
at Crosswicks I know not, after my repeated wishes to hear ol 
him at Princeton. Surely he is there by this time." 

By the 21st of January, Putnam reached Princeton 
without having met with the opposition from the 
enemy which he had expected. He had been espe- 
cially wary, for many of the men under his command, 
whose terms of enlistment had expired, refused to re- 
main in the ranks until their places could be supplied 



340 Israel Putnam [1776- 

by new recruits. With his diminished army, the 
General was gravely apprehensive of the result of an 
encounter with a hostile force. 

Among the sick and wounded British prisoners at 
Princeton, was Captain McPherson of the 17th Regi- 
ment of the royal army. This Scotchman had been 
shot near the lungs by a musket ball in the battle 
of Princeton. When the British fell back before the 
Americans, he had been left in the town and, until 
Putnam took possession of the place, he had received 
little attention from the surgeon. The General, on 
finding the neglected and suffering Scotchman, secured 
medical attendance at once for him and showed so 
much kindness that the wounded man could hardly 
believe that his benefactor belonged to the " rebel" 
army. 

" Pray, sir, what countryman are you ? " McPherson 
is said to have asked Putnam. 

" An American," was the answer. 

' ' Not a Yankee ? ' ' quickly came the query from 
the sick bed. 

" A full-blooded one," replied the General with em- 
phatic and good-humoured pride. 

" By God, I am sorry for that," rejoined McPherson; 
" I did not think there could be so much goodness and 
generosity in an American, or, indeed, in anybody but 
a Scotchman ! ' ' 

There is another story relating to Putnam and Mc- 
Pherson, for which, as well as the one just told, 
Humphreys is the authority. It seems that the 
wounded ofiicer, who was doubtful of recovery, asked 
if a friend in the British army stationed at Brunswick 
might come to see him. Putnam was, at first, some- 
what perplexed what to do. He was unwilling that 



1777] At Philadelphia and Princeton 341 

the enemy should have any opportunity to learn how 
few American troops there were at Princeton, and yet 
he was too tender-hearted to deny McPherson's pathetic 
request. An expedient, however, soon suggested itself 
to the resourceful General. He dispatched a messenger 
under a flag of truce to the British camp, with instruc- 
tions not to return with McPherson's friend until after 
dark. In the evening, lights were placed in all the 
rooms of the College buildings and in every apart- 
ment of the houses throughout the town. During the 
entire night, Putnam manoeuvred his insignificant 
force, sometimes altogether and sometimes in small 
detachments, past the room where McPherson and his 
friend were. It was afterwards learned that the vis- 
itor, on his return to Brunswick, reported to the Brit- 
ish commander that the American troops at Princeton 
could not, by the lowest estimate, number less than 
four or five thousand men. Thus did Putnam ingen- 
iously succeed in complying with Washington's wish 
that he deceive the enemy into believing that his force 
was many times greater than it actually was. 

Putnam was continually on the outlook for oppor- 
tunities to harass the British, who had been compelled 
to evacuate West Jersey. His division formed the 
right wing of the American army, of which the main 
body lay encamped with Washington at Morristown, 
while Heath's division on the Hudson constituted the 
left wing. The post at Princeton, within a few miles 
of Brunswick and Amboy, whither the enemy had 
withdrawn, was much to Putnam's liking, for the 
men, under his directions, could hover in small scout- 
ing parties about the British in winter quarters, inter- 
rupting their communications, cutting off their supplies, 
and surprising their foraging parties and pickets. 



342 Israel Putnam [1776- 

In a letter to the Pennsylvania Council of Safety, 
Putnam tells of the brave conduct of some of his men in 
capturing certain Tories, in the ipa.y of the British Gov- 
ernment, who had then taken post at Lawrence Island 
in the Raritan River and were throwing up works 
there : 

" Princeton, Feb i8tb, 1777. 
" Gentlemen, 

"Last night Col. Neilson, with a party of about 150 men, 
attacked sixty belonging to Cortland Skinner's Brigade, at 
Lawrence's Island, under command of Majr Richd Stockton, 
formerly an Inhabitant of this place — the Enemy's renowned 
land Pilot — the Colonel took the whole, among which were 
this Stockton, a Captain & three or four Subaltern officers; 
the enemy had four killed, and one wounded — we had one 
killed — this you may depend on to be a fact. Col. Neilson 
is just arrived here. I shall forward the prisoners on in a 
day or two to you — 50 of the Bedford County Riflemen of 
your State, what I detached from this place, were with Col. 
Neilson— the whole officers & men, both belonging to that 
County &the Militia of this State, behaved with great bravery, 
such as would do honour to veteran Soldiers ; there are also 
thirty or sixty stand of arms, which I think the Middlesex 
Militia ought to have. The Bearer I send purposely to acquaint 
you with the Circumstance. 

"I am Gentlemen, with Esteem, 

" your Hum servt, 

" Israel Putnam." 

The captured Stockton and his men needed to be 
guarded with special precaution, and Putnam gav^e 
strict orders to the officer who was appointed to con- 
duct them to Philadelphia, that " no Indulgence be 
allowed the Villains which affords them a possibility 
of escape." When Washington heard that Stockton 
and his men had been sent down to Philadelphia in 



1777] At Philadelphia and Princeton 343 

irons and were kept in close confinement in that city, 
he was inclined to criticise such treatment of them. 
But Putnam, who was usually lenient to prisoners, ad- 
vised so strongly that these " land pirates" of desperate 
character be severely dealt with, that they were kept 
awhile longer chained in guarded cells. Soon after the 
capture of the Stockton party, the British sent out a 
foraging band towards Bound Brook, but these ma- 
rauders were repulsed by some of Putnam's men, who 
formed an ambush and surprised the enemy. 

Towards the end of the winter, the Pennsylvania 
Board of War sent Putnam the news that a " most vil- 
lainous plot," by certain disaffected persons, to betray 
Philadelphia to the British had been discovered, and 
also that a message had been received from Benjamin 
Franklin, then in Paris, reporting prospect of aid from 
the French Government in the American struggle for 
liberty. In the early spring of 1777 there were indica- 
tions of a general military movement by the British. 
The vigilant Putnam reported immediately to the 
President of the Continental Congress the signs of the 
beginning of a hostile campaign, which evidently had 
for its object the capture of Philadelphia. 






CHAPTER XXIII 

THE COMMAND OF THE HUDSON HIGHI^ANDS 

1777-1778 

I.THOUGH it seemed probable that the 
British at Brunswick and Amboy would 
open the campaign of 1777 by advan- 
cing against Philadelphia, Washington 
did not confine his attention to the pre- 
parations for the defence of that city. 
Fully aware of the importance of guarding the Hudson 
River, to prevent communication by the enemy with 
Canada, he decided to put a major-general in command 
of the Highlands, while he himself, with the main 
army, stood ready to move southward and thwart any 
attempt by General Howe to capture Philadelphia. 
Benedict Arnold, who had just been raised to the rank 
of major-general for gallant conduct in repelling 
marauders whom Tory-Governor Tryon had led into 
Connecticut, seemed a suitable officer for the chief 
command on the Hudson, but he was too much occu- 
pied in seeking a " vindication " for a slight which he 
felt that Congress had passed upon him by some recent 
promotions. Putnam was then selected for the High- 
lands, and was ordered to Peekskill, which, on account 
of its central location on the Hudson, had been desig- 

344 



[1777-78] The Hudson Highlands 345 

nated as the encampment for nearly all the New Eng- 
land and New York recruits. To Brigadier-General 
Alexander McDougall, who had succeeded Heath in 
charge of the troops there, Washington wrote on May 
i6th, telling him that Putnam would soon arrive to 
take the chief command of that department, and he 
added : 

" You are well acquainted with the old gentleman's temper ; 
he is active, disinterested, and open to conviction, and I there- 
fore hope, that, by affording him the advice and assistance, 
which your knowledge of the post enables you to do, you will 
be very happy in your command under him." 

On reaching Peekskill, Putnam, in accordance with 
Washington's instructions, directed his " particular 
and immediate attention to fixing the boom " for 
greater security against any attempt by the British 
vessels to force a passage up the Hudson. This ob- 
struction of the river, recently recommended by a 
special committee consisting of Greene, Knox, and 
other general officers, was to extend from Fort Mont- 
gomery — which, with its companion stronghold. Fort 
Clinton, stood on the western side of the Hudson — to 
the opposite shore, where rose the sharp promontory 
known as St. Anthony's Nose. After taking prelimin- 
ary steps towards the construction of the proposed 
boom and chain, Putnam assumed the command in per- 
son at Peekskill. He established his headquarters at 
the house of John Mandeville.* Here a letter dated 
" Morristown, May 25, 1777," reached him from 
Washington, suggesting an expedition down the Hud- 
son to surprise the British detachment at Kingsbridge. 

* Congressional Report, No. 452, 35th Congress. The Gen- 
eral Orders of Putnam in the Highlands have been edited by 
W. C. Ford. 



54^ Israel Putnam 



[1777- 



On May 28tli, Washington marched his troops from 
Morristown to the heights of Middlebrook, within ten 
miles of Brunswick, in order to keep General Howe 
from pushing across New Jersey to Philadelphia. The 
British manoeuvres to force the American army from 
its new position resulted in the abandonment by Put- 
nam of the project to surprise the enemy's force at 
Kingsbridge, for, before he had time to undertake the 
enterprise, Washington ordered him to send forward to 
Newjerse}^ Generals Parsons, McDougall, andGlov^er, 
with all the Continental troops at Peekskill, except one 
thousand men, which number, in conjunction with the 
militia at that post, was deemed equal to the number 
of the enemy on the east side of the Hudson. 

At last, after fruitless efforts to bring on a general 
engagement or to outflank the Americans, Howe with- 
drew on June 30th from New Jersey, taking his whole 
force over to Staten Island. A few days before this 
evacuation by the British, Washington had learned 
that General Burgoyne, with a hostile force, was mov- 
ing down from Canada by way of Lake Champlain, 
and also that Colonel St. lyCger had gone up the St. 
Lawrence to Lake Ontario, and would lead British 
troops, Canadians, and Indians through the Mohawk 
Valley. On receiving this news, the American Com- 
mander-in-chief dispatched orders to Putnam to hold 
in readiness to move up the Hudson River, at a mo- 
ment's notice, four regiments of Massachusetts troops 
which were then at Peekskill, and also to hire sloops at 
Albany for their transportation. Immediately after 
the departure of Howe's army from New Jersey, 
another message was hurried off to the General in the 
Highlands, telling him that the British troops under 
Howe would probably ascend the Hudson River and 



17781 The Hudson Highlands 347 

attempt to force the passes of the Highlands. This 
news caused great excitement among the soldiers at 
Peekskill. Putnam made some effort to obtain addi- 
tional militia, in accordance with Washington's urgent 
instructions, but, with his wonted good humour and un- 
daunted spirit, he devoted his chief attention to em- 
boldening the men already with him. 

The loss of Ticonderoga was reported in the Peeks- 
kill camp on July 9th, but, as Webb, Putnam's former 
aide-de-camp, who was now colonel of a Connecticut 
regiment, records in his journal, " General Putnam 
did not credit the intelligence." The rumour of the 
disaster was, however, soon confirmed by later tidings 
in a letter from Washington who, after the evacuation 
of New Jersey by the British, had moved back from 
Middlebrook to Morristown, and was, with his troops at 
Pompton, ready to co-operate with Putnam in the 
Highlands at a moment's notice. From Pompton 
Washington hastened with his troops to Ramapo Clove, 
a rugged defile in the Highlands, near Haverstraw, 
and sent the divisions of Sullivan and Stirling across 
the Hudson River to Peekskill. On July 20th he ad- 
vanced eleven miles within the Clove, in consequence 
of a rumour that the British were approaching from 
New York. The alarm proved to be false, and on July 
24th, Washington and his troops were again near the 
entrance of the Clove. Meantime, Putnam received 
urgent messages from the Commander-in-chief, bidding 
him to obtain all the information possible in regard to 
the enemy's movements. It was soon found that the 
British fleet of more than two hundred ships, carrying 
an army of eighteen thousand men, had sailed out of 
New York Harbour, and that seven thousand men 
under Sir Henrj^ Clinton remained to hold the city. 



348 Israel Putnam [^777- 

Hitherto, during July, Howe's " conduct" had been 
" extremely embarrassing," but Washington now felt 
sure that the British commander was bound for Phila- 
delphia. The American divisions under Sullivan and 
vStirling were, therefore, ordered down from Peekskill 
to increase the force for the protection of Philadelphia. 

But Putnam, misled by an intercepted letter from 
Howe to Burgoyne, which had just been brought into 
the Peekskill camp, and which the British Commander- 
in-chief had artfully contrived should fall into American 
hands, could not believe that the enemy had actually 
departed for Philadelphia. He thought their destina- 
tion must be Boston, and that Ihcy would return and 
ascend the Hudson River. He accordingly wrote to 
Washington on July 24th to that effect, and enclosed 
the intercepted letter, which was in the handwriting of 
General Howe. Washington was not deceived by 
Howe's artifice, and urged Putnam, who was loath to 
detach troops, to send on the reinforcement. Putnam 
was still of the opinion that Washington was mis- 
taken, and reluctantly forwarded the divisions of Sulli- 
van and Stirling. He objected again to having his 
force in the Highlands weakened, but was obliged to 
comply with another message from the Commander-in- 
chief and send McDougall's and Huntington's brigades 
to the west side of the Hudson, where they were to 
be in readiness to march on the arrival of further 
orders. The number of soldiers at Peekskill and in 
that vicinity was reduced to less than three thousand. 
" You will see, sir," wrote Putnam to Washington, 
" how exposed and weak we are at this post, as well as 
the whole Eastern country in case an attack is made on 
any part." 

Meantime, Washington, with the main body of troops, 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 349 

had set out for the Delaware. Ou reaching Coryell's 
Ferry, he learned that the enemy's fleet had arrived at 
the Capes of Delaware. This important information 
was communicated at once to Putnam. 



" You will therefore please to order the two brigades," said 
Washington in announcing the news to the General, "which 
were thrown over the North River to march immediately 
towards Philadelphia through Morristown and over Coryell's 
Ferry, where boats will be ready for them. The troops are to 
march as expeditiously as possible without injuring the men. I 
beg you will endeavour to make up your garrison with militia 
from Connecticut and New York, as soon as possible ; and I 
desire that you will forward this account by express to General 
Schuyler and to the Eastern States. I hope, as they now have 
nothing to fear from General Howe, that they will turn out 
their force both Continental and militia to oppose Burgoyne." 

Washington pushed on with his army towards Phila- 
delphia, but what was his surprise on his arrival at 
Chester to hear that the British fleet had put out to sea 
again ! He now suspected that, after all, the whole 
movement had been a feint and that Howe would at 
once return to the Hudson. Sullivan's division and 
McDougairs and Huntington's brigades were therefore 
ordered back to the Highlands, and Washington held 
himself ready to follow as soon as the British plans 
could be more definitely ascertained. A week went by 
and things became hourly more perplexing. 

At this critical period, when the enemy might soon 
come up the Hudson, Putnam was exercising his 
authority in the Highlands with a firm hand. Severe 
punishment was in store for all persons who deserted 
from the American ranks. After an offender had been 
executed at Peekskill, this notice was posted : 



350 Israel Putnam [1777- 

" I wish that all who have any inclination to join our enemies 
from motives of fear, ambition or avarice, would take warning 
by this example and avoid the dreadful calamaties that will 
inevitably follow such vile and treasonable practices. 

" ISRAEiv Putnam." * 

The fearless energy of the General was evinced by 
the way in which he dealt with British spies. The 
proceedings of the court martial f at Peekskill show 
that "Edmund Palmer was arraigned and tried upon 
a Charge of Plundering, robbing, and carrying off 
Cattle, Goods, &c., from the well-affected Inhabitants 
and for being a Spy for the Enemy." The evidence 
against Palmer was overwhelming, and the " Noted 
Tory Robber and Spy " was condemned to be hanged. 
Putnam " approved the sentence" and issued an order 
for all the troops to parade " on y^ hill. By the gal- 
low^s " on Friday morning, August 8, 1777, to witness 
the execution. Before the appointed date for the 
hanging, Captain Montague, in the British ship The 
Mercury, brought a message under a flag of truce to 
Verplanck's Point and it was forwarded from there 
to Peekskill. Sir Henry Clinton, who was in charge 
of the British troops in New York, had sent up to claim 
Palmer as a lieutenant in the King's service. He 
asserted that the American general represented no 
acknowledged sovereignty, and so could not possess 
any legal authority for inflicting the death-penalty. 
He threatened vengeance if Palmer should be executed. 
But Putnam, with prompt decision and tmswerving de- 
termination, sent back this terse and bold reply : 



*From the original document owned by Frederick Lally, of 
lyansingburgh, N. Y. 

f Calendar of New York Historical Manuscripts,- vol. ii., 
p. 258. 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 351 

" He;ad-Quarte;rs, 7 August, 1777. 
" Edmund Palmer, an officer in the enemy's service, was 
taken as a spy lurking within our lines ; he has been tried as a 
spy, condemned as a spy, and shall be executed as a spy, and 
the flag is ordered to depart immediately. 

" ISRAEi< Putnam." 
" P. S. He has been accordingly executed." * 

During nearly the whole of August the whereabouts 
of Howe's fleet remained a m3'stery to the Americans. 
Washington kept the main army in a position from 
which it could move quickl}^ either toward Philadelphia 
or towards the Hudson. The farmer-soldiers in the 
Highlands, who little realised the exigencies of the 
campaign, became anxious, when atttumn approached, 
to go home for harvest work, and it w^as with dif- 
ficulty that they were prevailed upon to continue in 
the service. 

"The Season of the Year," said Washington, in reply to a 
letter from Putnam, who had reported the restlessness of his 
men, "is, to be sure, inconvenient for the militia to be out ; 
but the necessity of the case requires that as many as possibly 
can must be retained in the service ; for if General Burgoyne 
persists in his advance upon our northern array, we must afford 
them support, or suffer him to make himself master of all the 
Country above." 

Burgoyne, in his advance from Ticonderoga, had 
already captured Fort Edward and, notwithstanding 
the obstinate resistance by the Americans, had forced 
Schuyler's army as far south as Stillwater, about thirty 
miles above Albany. St. Leger, with his motley force 
from Oswego, had made his way through the woods of 

* Some writers, in quoting this famous message, give Palm- 
er's first name as " Nathan," but the official records show that 
it was " Edmund." 



352 Israel Putnam [1777- 

Central New York and was before Fort Stanwix in the 
Mohawk Valley. But both of these divisions of the 
British army received a check in August — Burgoyne's 
troops, by the " great stroke struck by General Stark 
near Bennington," as Washington afterwards called 
the brilliant victory of Putnam's old comrade; St, 
Iveger's Tories and Indians, by the heroic advance of 
General Herkimer and his men to meet the enemy in 
a bloody hand-to-hand encounter which relieved Fort 
Stanwix. The news of these successes reached the 
Peekskill camp just about the time of the arrival of a 
message which announced that Howe had at last ap- 
peared at the head of Chesapeake Bay and was landing 
his forces. Affairs northward and southward seemed 
to put the Highlands out of immediate danger of an 
attack, and Putnam now yielded to the earnest solicita- 
tions of some of his men and permitted them to go home 
for the harvest farming. Unfortunately, the recruits 
were not as quickly supplied as the General expected. 
Several regiments of New York militia were forwarded 
to Peekskill by Governor George Clinton, who was at 
Fort Montgomery, but Putnam was soon sorely in need 
of more troops, for Washington met with adversity at 
Brandywine Creek, in the attempt to oppose the British 
on their march against Philadelphia, and sent for re- 
inforcements from the Highlands. In the emergency, 
Putnam endeavoured to get men from his own colony, 
as appears from the stirring letter which he addressed 
to the " Colonels and other officers of the Army and 
Militia of Connecticut ' ' : 

" Peek's Hili,, Sept. 14, 1777, eleven o'clock, p.m. 

" Genti^emen, — . . . This moment arrived an express 
from Congress, containing advices that there has been a severe 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 353 

action [Battle of Brandywine] between General Washington 
and General How last Thursday, [Sept ii] in which the former 
was obliged to retire with the loss of several field-pieces ; and, 
in consequence thereof, the Congress have ordered fifteen hun- 
dred men to be immediately sent from here to re-enforce 
General Washington ; which obliges me, for the common 
safety, to call upon all the ofiBcers and soldiers of the Continen- 
tal troops and militia in the State of Connecticut, that have not 
special license to be absent, immediately to repair to this post, 
for the aid and defence thereof, and to defeat and crush our 
cruel and perfidious foes. And would we, my countrymen, for 
once lay aside our avarice, oppression, and evil works, for 
which the land mourns, and the inhabitants thereof are dis- 
tressed and terrified, and unitedly exert ourselves like freemen, 
resolved on freedom, through the smiles of Heaven we should 
put a speedy end to those unnatural disturbers of our peace, 
and, with them, a period to this unhappy and bloody war, 
which now ravages and desolates our countr}-, and threatens 
its inhabitants and their posterity with the most dismal ruin 
and abject slavery. Such casualties are incident to human 
affairs, the natural result of general national depravity ; and 
are avoidable only by reformation and amendment in the pub- 
lic manners of a people. 

"Awake, then, to virtue and to great military exertion, and 
we shall put a speedy and happy issue to this mighty contest. 

" Israel Putnam." 

Washington had withdrawn nearly all the American 
troops from New Jersey to his aid in protecting Phila- 
delphia. The British in New Yotk City seized the 
opportunity to make inctirsions into the country. As 
soon as Putnam heard of these marauding expeditions, 
he ordered General McDougall to cross the Hudson 
with fifteen hundred men, but the detachment was not 
in time to overtake a plundering party that was retreat- 
ing before a small force under Aaron Burr, who had 
recently resigned as Putnam's aide-de-camp to become 
lieutenant-colonel in Malcolm's New York regiment, 



354 Israel Putnam [1777- 

stationed at Ramapo. The apparent necessity of guard- 
ing against further hostile ravages in New Jersej', and 
also against any attempt by the British in New York to 
pass up the Hudson and join Burgoyne's army, led 
Putnam to feel justified in withholding for a while the 
reinforcement which he was expected to send from the 
Highlands to Philadelphia. In fact, he had formed a 
plan for a separate attack on the British at Staten 
Island, Paulus Hook, York Island, and Long Island. 
He had been encouraged by Governor Trumbull to 
expect a large number of militiamen from Connecticut 
for this purpose. With these reinforcements and the 
troops already at Peekskill, together with the men who 
nn'ght be obtained from the different outposts, the 
General, who had received full information in regard 
to the enemy's strength in New York, believed he 
could acccomplish his object. But Putnam's project 
was summarily put to an end by Washington, who saw 
no special advantage to be gained in trying to recapture 
New York at present. The defence of Philadelphia 
seemed to the Commander-in-chief the paramount 
necessity, and he wrote to Putnam, expressing himself 
very strongly on the subject, and called for a reinforce- 
ment. The desired detachment was forwarded to 
Washington, but the departure of the men from Peeks- 
kill was followed by the news that the British force in 
New York had been increased by the arrival of troops 
from England. Putnam now became gravely appre- 
hensive of an advance up the Hudson by the enemy. 
His worst fears were soon to be realised, for it was all 
too true that Sir Henry Clinton was planning to move 
up the Hudson with his reinforcement and make a 
passage for the British ships to Albany. The distress- 
ing and disheartening story of the manoeuvres of the 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 355 

enemy, aud how, after the fall of the American forts, 
Putnam was compelled to abandon Peekskill and take 
post at Fislikill, fourteen miles above, is told in the 
General's own words to Washington, who had himself 
met with defeat. Philadelphia was lost,, and the Com- 
mander-in-chief had been forced from the battlefield 
near Germantown to the hills above Whitemarsh. 
There he received this account of the disaster in the 
Hudson Highlands : 

" FiSHKiiyl,, 6 o'clock, Wednesday morning, 
" 8 October, 1777. 

" Dear General,, — It is with the utmost reluctance I now 
sit down to inform you that the enemy, after making a variety 
of movements up and down the North River, lauded, on the 
morning of the 4th instant, about three thousand men, at 
Tarrytowu ; aud, after making an excursion about five miles up 
the country, they returned and embarked. The morning follow- 
ing they advanced up near King's Ferry, and landed on the east 
side of the river; but in the evening part of them reembarked, 
and, the morning after, landed a little above King's Ferry, on 
the west side ; but the morning, being so exceeding foggy, con- 
cealed their scheme, and prevented us from gaining any idea 
what number of troops they landed. In about three hours we 
discovered a large fire at the Ferry, which we imagined to be 
the store-houses, upon which it was thought they only landed 
with a view of destroying the said houses. 

"The picket and scouts, which we had out, could not learn 
the exact number of the enemy that were remaining on the 
east side of the river ; but, from the best accounts, they were 
about fifteen hundred. At this same time a number of ships, 
galleys, &c., with about forty flat-bottomed boats, made every 
appearance of their intentions to land troops, both at Fort In- 
dependence and Peekskill Landing. 

" Under all these circumstances, my strength, being not more 
than twelve hundred Continental troops and three hundred 
militia, prevented me from detaching off a party to attack the 
enemy that lay on the east side of the river. After we had 



35^ Israel Putnam [1777- 

thougbt it impracticable to quit the heights, which we had 
then possession of, and attack the enemy, Brigadier-General 
Parsons and myself went to reconnoitre the ground near the 
enem}', and, on our return from thence, we were alarmed with 
a very heavy and hot firing, both of small arms and cannon, at 
Fort Montgomery, which immediately convinced me that the 
enemy had landed a large body of men at the time and place 
before mentioned. Upon which, I immediately detached off 
five hundred men to reenforce the garrison. But before they 
could possibly cross the river to their assistance, the enemy, 
who were far superior in numbers, had possessed themselves of 
the fort. Never did men behave with more spirit and alacrity 
than our troops upon this occasion. They repulsed the enemy 
three times, which were in number at least five to one. Gov- 
ernor Clinton and General James Clinton were both present ; 
but the engagement continuing until the dusk of the evening, 
gave them both an opportunity, together with several officers 
and a number of privates, to make their escape. The loss of 
the enemy in this affair. Governor Clinton thinks must be very 
considerable. Our loss, killed and wounded, is by no means 
equal to what he might have expected. General James Clinton 
was wounded in the thigh, but I hope not mortally. Governor 
Clinton arrived at Peekskill the same evening, about eleven 
o'clock ; and, with the advice of him, General Parsons, and 
several other officers, it was thought impossible to maintain the 
post at Peekskill with the force then present against one that 
the enemy might, in a few hours, bring on the heights in our 
rear. It was, therefore, agreed that the stores ought to be im- 
mediately removed to some secure place, and the troops take 
post at Fishkill until a reenforcement o'/ militia should come 
to their aid. 

" I have repeatedly informed your Excellency of the enemy's 
design against this post ; but, from some motive or other, you 
always differed with me in opinion. As this conjecture of mine 
has, for once, proved right, I cannot omit informing you that 
my real and sincere opinion is, that they now mean to join 
General Burgoyne, with the utmost despatch. I have written 
General Gates, and informed him of the situation of our affairs 
in this quarter. Governor Clinton is exerting himself in col- 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 357 

lecting the militia of this State. Brigadier-General Parsons I 
have sent off to forward in the Connecticut militia, which are 
now arriving in great numbers. I therefore hope and trust 
that, in the course of a few days, I shall be able to oppose the 
progress of the enemy. Time will not permit me to add any 
thing more respecting the engagement, only that our loss (I 
believe, from the best information) does not exceed two hun- 
dred and fifty, killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. This 
evening I intend writing you again, but am now very busy. I 
am, dear General, with sincere regard, 

"Your very obedient, humble servant, 

" ISRAEi. Putnam," * 

In the evening Putnam wrote again to Washington, 
telling him the plans for resisting ftiture movements 
of the British, and giving additional details in regard to 
the loss of the forts in the Hudson Highlaiids. The 
enemy were sticcessful in removing the chevaux-de- 
frise which had been labouriously constructed. They 
then moved farther up the Hudson, burning such 
American shipping as they found in the river and also 
houses and mills on the shore. The misfortunes could 
not have occurred more inopportunely for Putnam. 
His wife, accompanied by her son, Septimus Gardiner, 
had recently arrived at the Peekskill headquarters to 
spend a few weeks. The young man, seventeen years 
old and of great promise, was to take Burr's place as 
the General's aide-de-camp, but he had hardly entered 
upon his duties when he suddenly sickened and died. 
Putnam deeply mourned this step-son, to whom he was 
much attached ; and the shock of the great loss en- 
feebled Mrs. Putnam, who for some time past had been 
far from strong. The excitement, caused by the fall 
of the forts and the advance of the British up the river, 
was too much for the sick woman, although she bore 

* Correspondence of the American Revolution, vol. i., p. 438. 



35 8 Israel Putnam [1777- 

up bravely in the midst of the general consternation. 
She became so seriously ill, that Putnam did not think 
it advisable to remove her from the Beverly Robinson 
house, which he had been occupying as headquarters 
since her arrival in the Highlands. Notwithstanding 
his intense solicitude for his wife, the General was 
obliged to leave her on account of the military exigen- 
cies of the hour. He provided the best care that he 
could for her comfort and safety, and then joined the 
troops at Fishkill. 

Putnam and Governor Clinton, as was arranged be- 
tween them, moved with their respective forces north- 
ward, the former on the east side and the latter on the 
west side of the Hudson, in order to prevent the British 
from landing and devastating the country, and also to 
be ready to fall upon their rear in case the}' should 
proceed to Albany and attempt to co-operate with 
Burgoyne.* The American generals were unable, 
however, to keep a hostile party from burning the 
village of 'Kingston and from going up the river as far 
as Livingston Manor and committing other ravages 
by fire. As a means of disconcerting the enemy 
and drawing them down the Hudson, Putnam con- 
ceived the idea of turning about for a march against 
New York City with all the Continental troops, in- 
cluding the recruits who were arriving in encouraging 
numbers from New England. He accordingly sent a 
messenger in haste to Gates at Saratoga, who had suc- 
ceeded Schuyler, for his advice in regard to such a 
diversion. Governor Clinton, whom Putnam had 
already consulted, did not favour the project, and ex- 
pressed his opinion that " moving up the river will be 
the most practicable method to be taken." Soon came 

* Public Papers of Governor George Clinton, vol. ii. 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 359 

a reply from Gates, who also discountenanced Putnam's 
plan. 

" It is certainly right," he wrote, " to collect your whole 
force, and push up the east side of the river after the enemj-. 
You may be sure they have nothing they care for in New York. 
Then why should you attack an empty town, which you know 
to be untenable the moment they bring their men-of-war 
against it ? " 

This advice from Gates was accompanied by important 
news, which changed the aspect of American affairs. 
At last, after a series of engagements, Burgoyne's army 
had been surrounded and cut off from supplies, and the 
British general had asked for a parley with a view to 
surrender. Welcome as was this intelligence, it reached 
Putnam at a time when the heav}^ blow of domestic 
affliction had again fallen. His wife did not rally from 
the illness which had weighted his heart with trouble. 
On October 14th she passed away. Whether or not the 
General received tidings of her sinking condition in 
time to be at her bedside when she breathed her last, 
the records do not tell. In great sorrow of soul, the 
affectionate husband laid away the form of his beloved 
helpmeet in the burying-ground of the English Church 
not far from the Robinson house. After the sad cere- 
mony, Putnam returned to Fishkill. In a letter to 
Washington, dated October i6th, the General reported 
the news of the surrender of Burgoyne. He stated also 
that his own force amounted to about six thousand 
troops, chiefly militia, and that General Parsons, with 
about two thousand men, had marched down from 
Fishkill and reoccupied Peekskill. In closing, Putnam 
mentioned his personal bereavement. 

On October 20th, Putnam was at Red Hook. From 
there he forwarded to Washington a copy of the terms 



360 Israel Putnam [1777- 

of Burgoyne's surrender, as finally agreed upon at 
Saratoga. Gates, impressed b}' his own greatness, had 
neglected to send any dispatch on the subject of the 
capitulation directly to the Commander-in-chief. In 
acknowledging the communication from Putnam, 
Washington suggested a combined movement of all 
the American troops in the Highlands for the purpose 
of pursuing the British or intercepting them and taking 
possession of New York, but before his message reached 
Red Hook, Sir Henry Clinton, with his whole force of 
troops and shipping, had returned down the Hudson to 
the city. After this departure of the enemy, Putnam, 
who had been patrolling the east side of the river, 
marched his men down to Fishkill. He was correct in 
his conjecture that Sir Henry Clinton had given up all 
plans for attempting anything further in the High- 
lands. That British general was, indeed, preparing to 
send forward large reinforcements to General Howe, in 
order to reduce the American forts on the Delaware 
and thus hold Philadelphia more securely. Something, 
Putnam felt, must be done to cause a diversion of the 
enemy in New York and thereby prevent more hostile 
troops from being forwarded southward. At this 
juncture he had word from Saratoga that additional 
detachments, no longer needed in the Northern De- 
partment, were on their way to join him. These 
patriotic troops were Poor's, Warner's, lyearned's, and 
Paterson's brigades, Col. Van Schaick's regiment, and 
Morgan's riflemen, amounting to five thousand seven 
hundred men, which force would make Putnam's 
division about nine thousand strong, exclusive of Mor- 
gan's corps, the artillery-men, and the militia from 
Connecticut and New York. On learning that his 
army in the Highlands would be thus increased, the 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 361 

General at once called together his principal officers to 
decide upon a disposition of the troops whereby the 
object of diverting the British in New York could be 
accomplished. The unanimous advice was that four 
thousand men should move down the west side of the 
Hudson and take post near Haverstraw ; that one 
thousand should be retained in the Highlands to guard 
the country and repair the forts which the enemy had 
evacuated ; and that the remainder of Putnam's troops 
should march down on the east side of the river towards 
Kingsbridge, except Morgan's corps, which was ordered 
immediately to join the Commander-in-chief.* This 
proposed disposition of the forces had for its object not 
only to cause a diversion of the British in New York 
and prevent a reinforcement from being sent to General 
Howe, but also, if a favourable opportunity presented 
itself, to attack the city. 

But Putnam met with obstacles in the execution of 
the general plan which had been decided upon in the 
Council-of-War. Before the arrival of any of the ex- 
pected troops from the north, young Alexander Hamil- 
ton, Washington's aide-de-camp, rode into the Fishkill 
camp. He had been sent to seek reinforcements for 
the army in Pennsylvania. It seems that the Com- 
mander-in-chief wished to obtain for his own use troops 
from the Northern Department, including the very 
men whom Putnam hoped to employ in the movement 
towards New York. General Dickinson, who was sta- 
tioned at Elizabethtown Point, had a large enough force, 
Washington thought, to make an effectual feint in the 
direction of New York, and so the detachments from the 
North should be sent on directly to strengthen the main 
American army in Pennsylvania. Hamilton had been 

* Minutes of Council of War at Fishkill, Oct. 31, 1777, 



o 



62 Israel Putnam [1777- 



authorised to demand the help which Gates, blinded 
by the glamour of his great victorj' over Burgoyne, was 
purposely withholding from Washington. On reach- 
ing Putnam's headquarters, young Hamilton ordered 
the General, in the name of the Commander-in-chief, to 
forward to Pennsylvania, Poor's and Learned' s Con- 
tinental brigades and Warner's militia brigade, which 
were already on their way from Albany and would 
probabl}^ reach Fishkill within a few hours. He also 
directed that other troops, expected from Gates, should 
immediately on their arrival be dispatched southward, 
and that a body of New Jersey militia, which was about 
to cross to Peekskill, should at once march towards Red 
Bank. Washington's messenger then mounted a fresh 
horse and sped on towards Albany. He had com- 
municated the orders at Fishkill in a manner which 
hardly exhibited the patient and tolerant qualities of a 
wise diplomat. Such summary interference with the 
plan for the employment of the troops in moving along 
the lower Hudson, was far from pleasing to the old 
wolf-killer, who was eager to beard the British in their 
New York den. The military sins which Putnam 
forthwith committed, in neglecting to comply with the 
instructions to part with the reinforcements from the 
North, were not caused by jealousy — the feeling which 
lyee had shown towards Washington the year before, 
— or by the spirit of insubordination like that of Gates 
in the present campaign. The truth is, that Putnam's 
military capacity was being put to a severer test than 
at any previous period of his life. He could not take 
in, on a large scale, the critical state of affairs at this 
time. He did not comprehend that Washington must 
have large reinforcements from the Northern Army to 
prevent Howe from removing the obstructions on the 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 363 

Delaware and opening a free communication between 
Philadelphia and the British shipping. Owing to his 
limited vision, Putnam magnified the importance of the 
project against New York and failed to acknowledge 
the authority of Washington's representative, who, al- 
though a young man not yet twenty-one years old, had 
a clear perception of the military exigencies of the hour. 
When Hamilton returned down the Hudson from 
Albany, where, after much persistence, he had finally 
obtained Gates's grudging promise to forward the 
troops indispensable to Washington, he was very 
indignant to find that Putnam had not done his duty 
in the Highlands. 

"I am pained beyond expression," wrote Hamilton to 
Washington, on November loth, from New Windsor, "to in- 
form 3-our Excellency that on my arrival here, I find everything 
has been neglected and deranged by General Putnam, and that 
the two brigades. Poor's and Learned's, still remained here and 
on the other side the river at Fishkill. Colonel Warner's 
militia, I am told, have been drawn to Peekskill, to aid in an 
expedition against New York, which, it seems, is at this time 
the hobby-horse with General Putnam. Not the least attention 
has been paid to my order, in your name, for a detachment of 
one thousand men from the troops hitherto stationed at that 
post. Everything is sacrificed to the whim of taking New 
York. ... By Governor Clinton's advice, I have sent an 
order, in the most emphatical terms, to General Putnam, imme- 
diately to despatch all the Continental troops under him to your 
assistance; and to detain the militia instead of them. . . ."* 

Here is the peremptory order, which, as we learn 
from the foregoing letter, Hamilton sent to the brave- 
hearted but wrong-headed Putnam : 



* Works oj Alexander Hamilton, ed. by J. C. Hamiltcti, 
vol. i. 



364 Israel Putnam [1777- 

" Head-Quarters, New Windsor, 
" 9 November, 1777. 

"Sir, — I cannot forbear confessing, that I am astonished 
and alarmed beyond measure, to find that all his Excellency's 
views have been hitherto frustrated, and that no single step of 
those I mentioned to you has been taken to afford him the aid 
he absolutely stands in need of, and by delaying which, the 
cause of America is put to the utmost conceivable hazard. 

"I so fully explained to you the General's situation, that I 
could not entertain a doubt you would make it the first object 
of your attention to reen force him with that speed the exigency 
of affairs demanded ; but, I am sorry to say, he will have too 
much reason to think other objects, in comparison with that 
insignificant, have been uppermost. I speak freely and em- 
phatically, because I tremble at the consequences of the delay 
that has happened. General Clinton's reenforcement is prob- 
ably by this time with Mr. Howe. This will give him a decisive 
superiority over our army. What may be the issue of such a 
state of things, I leave to the feelings of every friend to his 
country, capable of foreseeing consequences. My expressions 
may perhaps have more warmth than is altogether proper ; but 
they proceed from the overflowing of my heart, in a matter 
where I conceive this Continent essentially interested. I wrote 
to you from Albany, and desired you would send a thousand 
Continental troops of those first proposed to be left with you. 
This, I understand, has not been done. How the non-com- 
pliance can be answered to General Washington, you can best 
determine. 

" I now, Sir, in the most explicit terms, by his Excellency's 
authority, give it as a positive order from him, that all the Con- 
tinental troops under your command may be immediately 
marched to King's Ferry, there to cross the river, and hasten 
to reen force the army under him. 

" The Massachusetts militia are to be detained instead Jof 
them, until the troops coming from the northward arrive. 
When they do, they will replace, as far as I am instructed, the 
troops you shall send away in consequence of this requisition. 
The General's idea of keeping troops this way does not extend 
farther than covering the country from any little irruptions of 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 365 

small parties, and carrying on the works necessary for the 
security of the river. As to attacking New York, that he thinks 
ought to be out of the question at present. If men could be 
spared from the other really necessary objects, he would have 
no objections to attempting a diversion by way of New York, 
but nothing farther. 

"As the times of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire 
militia will soon expire, it will be proper to call in time for a 
reenforcement from Connecticut. Governor Clinton will do all 
in his power, to promote objects in which the State he com- 
mands in is so immediately concerned. General Glover's and 
Patterson's brigades are on their way down. The number of 
the Continental troops necessary for this post will be furnished 
out of them. 

" I cannot but have the fullest confidence you will use your 
utmost exertions to execute the business of this letter ; and I 
am with great respect, Sir, 

" Your most obedient, Alexander Hamilton." 

On receiving this emphatic message at White Plains, 
where he was still astride of what Hamilton called the 
" hobby-horse," the expedition against New York, 
Putnam sent the letter, which he felt contained " some 
most unjust and injurious reflections" upon himself, 
to Washington, to whom he had already written for 
more direct orders than those which the aide-de-camp 
had delivered on arriving in the Highlands. Although 
the New York enterprise was one which the Comman- 
der-in-chief had approved of when it was suggested 
under other circumstances, his reply to Putnam showed 
that he sanctioned Hamilton's course. 

"I cannot but say," wrote Washington to the General, 
" there has been more delay in the march of the troops, than 1 
think necessar}- ; and I could wish that in future my orders may 
be complied with without arguing upon the propriety of them." 

These words had the effect of unhorsing the veteran 
Putnam from his hobby, and, without further protest. 



366 Israel Putnam [1777- 

he forwarded the needed reinforcements as fast as 
possible. 

After the departure of the troops from Fishkill to 
join Washington at Whitemarsh, Putnam, with a part 
of the force that remained, moved down the east side of 
the Hudson towards Kingsbridge. He reconnoitred 
in person within three miles of the British post, to see 
if it would be practicable for a detachment to make a 
diversion in that direction while General Dickinson 
with about fourteen hundred men made a descent upon 
Staten Island. On finding no opportunity to act with 
effect at Kingsbridge, Putnam led his troops to New 
Rochelle and arranged for them to cross over to Long 
Island and attack the forts at Huntington and Setau- 
ket. Before the preparations for transportation could 
be completed, the British learned of the intended incur- 
sion and evacuated the forts. The enemy on Staten 
Island also escaped from General Dickinson. 

Other enterprises, planned by Putnam in late No- 
vember and early December, were more successful. On 
one occasion he detached several parties, of one hun- 
dred men each, to prevent the depredations of numer- 
ous bands of marauders sent out from New York by 
Governor Tryon. The Americans took seventy-five or 
more prisoners, including Colonel James DeLancey, 
whose corps, known as the " Cow-Boys," had made 
free with the cattle of Westchester County. Put- 
nam's scouts also punished the British, for setting fire 
to the houses of patriotic inhabitants, by burning differ- 
ent residences, one of which belonged to the loyalist 
General Oliver DeLancey. This method of "justi- 
fiable retaliation " put an end, for the time being, to 
the enemy's incendiary practices. 

The second week in December, Putnam, who, with 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 367 

his men, was still in camp near Long Island Sound, 
entrusted to the separate command of General Parsons 
and Colonel Samuel B. Webb, an enterprise on Long 
Island. Unfortunately, the raid was only partially 
successful, for, although Parsons's division burned a 
sloop and a large quantity of boards, and returned with 
twenty prisoners, Webb's division fell in with the 
British war-ship Falcon, and every man was captured. 
Putnam was greatly distressed to have his former aide- 
de-camp thus taken by the enemy. Webb was made a 
prisoner just at a time when no more enterprises could 
be undertaken in the region of the Sound, for a letter 
had come to Putnam from Washington, emphasising 
the fact that, of greater importance than any attempt to 
annoy the enemy or to protect the outlying country 
against incursions, was the necessity of defending the 
Hudson River and rebuilding the demolished fortifica- 
tions in the Highlands. 

W^ashington's confidence in Putnam had undergone 
considerable change since the time that the General 
was first put in command of the Highlands. He had 
not been inclined to blame Putnam for the disasters to 
the forts and posts when the British made their Hud- 
son expedition in October, because, as he himself said 
at the time, on learning that the enemy had advanced 
up the river from Nev/ York, " the situation of our 
affairs this way [Philadelphia] has obliged us to draw 
off so large a part of our force from Peekskill, that 
what now remains there may perhaps prove inadequate 
to the defence of it." But later in the season, when 
Sir Henry Clinton's troops had returned down the 
Hudson to New York, and it was all important that the 
American detachments from the Northern Department 
should be forwarded to Pennsylvania, where things 



368 Israel Putnam [1777- 

were in an extremely critical state, the conduct of Put- 
nam, in persistently attempting to carry out his pet 
project against New York, and in neglecting impera- 
tive orders, strengthened a growing conviction in the 
mind of Washington that the General was hardly the 
right person for the Highlands. It was essential that 
the chief commander there should act in harmony with 
the general plan for the campaign, and not devote his 
time exclusively to partisan operations. In addition 
to Hamilton's unfavourable report concerning the Gen- 
eral, Washington received numerous complaints ftom 
inhabitants of New York, who were greatly dissatisfied 
with Putnam after the enemy had forced their way up 
the Hudson River and laid waste its borders. Besides 
having personal grievances over the destruction of 
their property, these murmurers found fault with Put- 
nam's pliant good nature in granting applications for 
passports to New York. He had shown an " over- 
share of complaisance and indulgence" to Tories, and 
many of them, under the pretence of urgent business 
and matters of private concern, had gone into the city 
and given valuable information to the British general. 
The fact that Putnam had exchanged newspapers with 
some of the King's ofl&cers, who had been his comrades 
in the earlier war, was even complained of. There 
were persons who were ready to distort into an accusa- 
tion against him so harmless a thing as his facetious 
note to his old friend General Robertson, when he sent 
him a packet of papers on one occasion : 

" Major General Putnam presents his compliments to Major 
General Robertson, and sends him some American Newspapers 
for his perusal — when General Robertson shall have done with 
them, it is requested they be given to Rivington [James Riving- 
ton, the Tory publisher of the New York Loyal Gazette'] in 
order that he may print some truth." 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 369 

The prejudice against Putnam, together with Wash- 
ington's own misgivings in regard to the General, made 
a change in the chief command of the Highlands ad- 
visable, and yet it was not easy to get a competent 
officer for the place. Congress, in November, had con- 
nected that post with the Northern Department, but 
Gates, who had been invested with ample authority to 
carry on the works, would not take charge of the 
Highlands. He claimed to have more important duties 
at Albany, but he was really conspiring, as President 
of the Board of War, to supersede Washington as Com- 
mander-in-chief of the American army. General 
George Clinton, whom Hamilton wished to have ap- 
pointed to the Highlands, could not be spared from the 
head of the provincial government of New York. So 
Putnam was kept awhile longer in chief command of 
the Highlands, and Washington trusted that the strong 
words in regard to the necessity of rebuilding the de- 
fences of the Hudson would have the desired effect. 
Before leaving the region of lyong Island Sound, Put- 
nam wrote to Washington for permission to visit Con- 
necticut. 

" Since I had the Misfortune to Lose Mrs. Putnam," were his 
words from Saw Pits, dated December i6th, to the Commander- 
in-chief, who was now with the main army in winter quarters 
at Valley Forge, " the Circumstances of My Family are Such as 
Makes it absolutely Necessary — that I Might have a Little time 
to go home to Settle My Affairs, if you think it not inconsistent 
with the Service, I shall be glad of your Approbation." 

Washington did not deny Putnam's request, but he 
urged upon him the necessity of going to the High- 
lands and remaining there until the question was de- 
cided whether or not the forts and other works on the 
Hudson, which had been demolished by the British, 



370 Israel Putnam [1777- 

should be restored in their former positions or new 
places should be selected for that purpose. From a let- 
ter of Putnam, dated January 13, 1778, we learn that 
he, in company with Governor George Clinton, Gen- 
eral James Clinton, and several others, among whom 
was Radiere, the French engineer, examined the 
grounds ; and that all except Radiere agreed that 
West Point was the most eligible place to be fortified. 
It furthermore appears, from the same source, that 
Radiere objected with considerable vehemence, and 
drew up a memorial designed to show that the site of 
Fort Clinton possessed advantages much superior to 
West Point. As the engineer was a man of science, 
and had the confidence of Congress and Washington, 
Putnam referred the matter to the Council and As- 
sembly of New York for advice before he made a final 
decision. A committee, appointed by those bodies, 
spent three days examining the borders of the Hudson 
in the Highlands, and they unanimously recommended 
West Point, agreeing thus with every person author- 
ised to act in the affair except the engineer. Putnam, 
therefore, selected West Point as the place to be forti- 
fied, and ordered Parsons's brigade to break ground 
there. Engineer Radiere, however, was slow in laying 
out works which he did not approve. This fact, to- 
gether with extremely cold weather and the privations 
and sufierings of the men, and the want of teams and 
other necessary aids, caused considerable delay. 

Washington, in great anxiety over the slow progress 
in building the defences in the Highlands, wrote to 
Putnam concerning the 

" great necessity there is for having the works there finished as 
soon as possible." " I most earnestly desire," he added, " that 
the strictest attention be paid to ever}- matter, which may con- 



I77S] The Hudson Highlands zii 

tribute to finishing and putting them in a respectable state 
before the spring." 

lu reply, Ptitnam reported, on February 13th, what 
had been accomplished : 

" At my request the legislature of this [New York] State 
have appointed a committee, to affix the places and manner of 
securing the river, and to afford some assistance in expediting 
the work. The state of affairs now at this post, you will please 
to observe, is as follows. The chain and necessary anchors are 
contracted for, to be completed by the first of April ; and, from 
the intelligence I have received, there is reason to believe they 
will be finished by that time. Parts of the boom intended to 
have been used at Fort Montgomery, sufficient for this place, 
are remaining. Some of the iron is exceedingly bad ; this I 
hope to have replaced with good iron soon. The chcvanx-de- 
frise will be completed by the time the river will admit of 
sinking them. The batteries near the water, and the fort to 
cover them, are laid out. The latter is within the walls six 
hundred yards around, twenty-one feet base, fourteen feet high, 
the talus two inches to the foot. This I fear is too large to be 
completed by the time expected. Governor Clinton and the 
committee have agreed to this plan, and nothing on my part 
shall be wanting to complete it in the best and most expeditious 
manner. Barracks and huts for about three hundred men are 
completed, and barracks for about the same number are nearly 
covered. A road to the river has been made with great diffi- 
culty." 

The pitiable condition of some of the troops under 
his connnand was described by Putnam in the same 
letter to Washington : 

"Meigs's regiment, except those under inoculation with the 
small-pox, is at the White Plains ; and, until barracks can be 
fitted up for their reception, I have thought best to continue 
them there, to cover the country from the incursions of the 
enemy. Dubois's regiment is unfit to be ordered on duty, there 
being not one blanket in the regiment. Very few have either 
a shoe or a shirt, and most of tUem have neither stockings, 



372 Israel Putnam [1777- 

breeches, nor overalls. Several companies of enlisted artificers 
are in the same situation, and unable to work in the field. 
Several hundred men are rendered useless, merely for want of 
necessary apparel, as no clothing is permitted to be stopped 
at this post. General Parsons has returned to camp some time 
since, and takes upon himself the command to-morrow [Febru- 
ary 14] when I shall set out for Connecticut." 

So strongly had the current of public opinion been 
running against Putnam that many of the leading New 
York patriots hoped that he would resign or be re- 
moved from his position as chief commander in the 
Highlands.* This feeling was expressed in a letter to 
Washington from Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, of 
New York, who had been a member of the committee of 
five which drafted the Declaration of Independence : 

"Your Excellency is not ignorant of the extent of General 
Putnam's capacity and diligence ; and how well so ever these 
may qualify him for this most important command, the preju- 
dices to which his imprudent lenity to the disaffected, and too 
great intercourse with the enemy, have given rise, have greatly 
injured his influence. How far the loss of Fort Montgomery 
and the subsequent ravages of the enemy are to be attributed 
to him, I will not venture to say ; as this will necessarily be 
determined by a court of inquiry, whose determinations I 
would not anticipate. Unfortunately for him, the current of 
popular opinion in this and the neighbouring States, and as far 
as I can learn in the troops under his command, runs strongly 
against him. For my own part, I respect his bravery and 
former services, and sincerely lament that his patriotism will 
not suffer him to take that repose, to which his advanced age 
and past services justly entitle him." 

Washington replied to Chancellor Livingston thus, 

on March 12, 1778, from headquarters, Valley Forge : 

"I should have answered your favr. of the 14th January 



* Thomas Egleston, Life of Major-General John Paterson. 



1778] The Hudson Plighlands 373 

before this time, had I not have been daily iu hopes that I 
should have been able to have given you a satisfactory ac- 
count of a change of men and measures in the North River 
Department. It has not been an easy matter to find a just pre- 
tence for removing an officer from his Command where his 
misconduct rather appears to result from want of Capacity than 
from any real intention of doing wrong, and it is therefore as 
you observe to be lamented that he cannot see bis own defects 
and make an honorable retreat from a Station in which he 
only exposes his own weakness. Proper measures are taking 
to carry on the enquiry into the loss of Fort Montgomery 
agreeable to the direction of Congress, and it is more than 
probable, from what I have heard, that the issue of that en- 
quiry will afford just grounds for a removal of Genl. P[utnam] 
but whether it does or not, the prejudices of all ranks in that 
quarter against him are so great, that he must at all events be 
prevented from returning. I hope to introduce a gentleman 
in his place, if the general course of service will admit of it, 
who will be perfectly agreeable to the State and to the public. 
In the meantime I trust that Genl. Parsons will do every thing 
in his power to carry on the works which from his last ac- 
counts are in more forwardness than I expected. . . ." 

The new commander for the Highlands whom Wash- 
ington had in mind was Major-General Alexander Mc- 
Dougall. This officer was appointed to that post in 
March, and was ordered to repair thither at once. He 
was accompanied from Albany to West Point by 
Colonel Rufus Putnam, who was to assist Kosciusko, 
the engineer recently appointed by Congress to take 
the place of Radiere, The work of fortifying was 
now pushed forward with great vigour. The principal 
fort was named by General McDougall, Fort Putnam, 
after Colonel Rufus Putnam, whose own regiment had 
been employed in building it.* 



* Hon. George F. Hoar, in an address delivered on September 
17, 1898, at Rutland, Mass., at the dedication of a tablet to 



374 Israel Putnam [1777- 

Meanwhile, Washington arranged for the Court of 
Inquiry which he mentioned in his letter to Chancellor 
Livingston, and which had been ordered by Congress. 

" I should have proceeded immediately upon the business of 
inquiry," wrote the Commander-in-chief to General McDougall 
in March, 1778, "had not General Putnam's private affairs re- 
quired his absence for some little time. I have appointed 
Brigadier-General Huntington and Colonel Wigglesv^-orth to 
assist you in this matter ; and, enclosed, you will find instruc- 
tions empowering you, in conjunction with them, to carry on 
the inquiry agreeable to the resolve of Congress. You will 
observe by the words of the resolve, that the inquiry is to be 
made into the loss of Forts Montgomery and Clinton, in the 
State of New York, and into the conduct of the principal officers 
commanding those forts. 

" Hence the officer commanding in chief in that department 
will be consequentially involved in the inquiry ; because if he 
has been deficient in affording the proper support to those 
posts, when called upon to doit, the commandant and principal 
officers will of course make it appear by the evidence produced 
in their own justification. I am not certain whether General 
Putnam has yet returned to Fishkill ; and I have therefore by 
the enclosed, which you will please forward to him by express, 
given him notice that the inquiry is to be held, and have de- 
sired him to repair immediately to that post." 

General Rufus Putnam, by the Massachusetts Society, Sons of 
the American Revolution, said : 

"To the genius of Rufus Putnam was due the favourable re- 
sult at three great turning-points in American history. It was 
his skill as an engineer that compelled the evacuation of Bos- 
ton. It was his skill as an engineer that fortified West Point. 
To him was due the settlement of the Ohio Territory and the 
adoption of the Ordinance of 1787 which dedicated the North- 
west forever to freedom, education and religion, and, in the 
end, saved the United States from becoming a great slavehold- 
ing empire." 

For the naming of Fort Putnam, see Boynton's History of 
West Point. 




FORT PUTNAM, WEST POINT. 



1778] The Hudson Highlands 375 

Putnam was already on his return journey to the 
Highlands, when the message from Washington for 
him was forwarded to Connecticut. On his arrival at 
Fishkill he learned for the first time that he had been 
superseded in the command by General McDougall, 
and that the officers had been selected to constitute 
the Court of Inquiry into the causes of the loss of Forts 
Montgomery and Clinton. The investigations of 
McDougall, Huntington, and Wigglesworth were 
made in April, .and, although Putnam did not have time 
to obtain all the "evidences and papers" that he 
wished to lay before them, the report which they made 
was very satisfactory to him, for it exonerated him 
from all blame in the Hudson disaster. The decision, 
approved by the Continental Congress, was that the 
forts were lost " not from any fault, misconduct, or 
negligence of the commanding officers, but solely 
through the want of adequate force under their com- 
mand to maintain and defend them." -'^ 

The verdict, favourable to Putnam, was commented 
upon with much interest by some of the British officers 
when they heard of it. 

"We hear," wrote one of them at Philadelphia "that Mr. 
Putnam was lately tried before a court-martial and honourably 
acquitted of all charges brought against him. The principal 
one was leniency towards prisoners— a sentiment he seems to 
have imbibed years ago when he had the honour to serve his 
Majesty for several years in the late [French and Indian] 
War." f 

As soon as the Court of Inquiry finished its investi- 



* Journals of Congress, 1778. 

\ Letters 0/ Brunswick and Hessian Officers. Transl, by W. 
L. Stone. 



i 



376 



Israel Putnam 



[177S] 



gations, Putnam, in accordance with Washington's 
wish, returned with all possible expedition to Connec- 
ticut to superintend the forwarding of recruits for the 
coming campaign. 





CHAPTER XXIV 

IN THE RECRUITING SERVICE 
1778-1779 

HEN Putnam reached Connecticut in 
April, 1778, he went at once to Leba- 
non and was furnished by Governor 
Trumbull with such orders and assist- 
ance as he needed for the recruiting 
service. The response of the people to 
Putnam's appeal for new levies was not, at first, what 
it should have been. A general feeling of over-confi- 
dence prevailed, for the "great good news" of the 
French alliance had recently arrived from across the 
ocean, and it seemed as if, with this powerful aid 
pledged to sustain American independence, the British 
might be easily conquered. " I hope," said Washing- 
ton in a letter to Putnam, " that the fair, and, I may 
say certain, prospects of success will not induce us to 
relax." The Connecticut General used every effort to 
arouse his fellow-colonists to the importance of prepar- 
ing vigorously for the new campaign, and soon he 
was able to report to the Commander-in-chief that the 
people were coming to a realisation of the needs of the 
hour. 

Towards the last of May, Putnam had made so much 
377 



37^ Israel Putnam [1778- 

progress in raising and forwarding the needed force 
from Connecticut that he was ready for service else- 
where. Washington was in a quandary how to employ 
him, and expressed himself thus to Gouverneur Morris 
of the Continental Congress : 

" What am I to do with Putnam? If Congress mean to lay 
him aside decently, I wish they would devise the mode. — He 
wanted some time ago to visit his family ; I gave him leave, & 
requested him to superintend the forwarding of the Connecticut 
recruits. — This service he says is at an end, & is now applying 
for orders. — If he comes to this army he must be in high com- 
mand (being next in rank to Lee) — if he goes to the North 
River he must command Gates, or serve under a junior officer — 
The sooner these embarrassments could be removed the better. 
If they are not to be removed, I wish to know it, that I may 
govern myself accordingly ; indecision & suspense in the mili- 
tary line, are hurtful in the extreme." 

Gates had succeeded McDougall in the command of 
the Hudson Highlands ; and I^ee, who had recently 
been exchanged, had returned to his old place as 
Senior Major-General in the Continental army. After 
Washington wrote the letter in which he mentioned 
both these Generals in connection with Putnam, sev- 
eral weeks passed away before Congress did anything 
to solve the problem concerning the Connecticut 
veteran. Several important events which occurred in 
the early summer had a bearing upon the military duty 
which was at length assigned to Putnam. The British 
troops, under the chief command of Sir Henrj^ Clinton, 
the successor of General William Howe, became so 
alarmed by the approach of a powerful French fleet 
that they evacuated Philadelphia on June i8th. In 
the pursuit of the enemy, Washington fought a battle, 
June 28th, at Monmouth. The British were driven 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 379 

from the field, but the force of the blow aimed at them 
was broken by the misconduct of Lee. For his dis- 
obedience of orders and his unnecessary and shameful 
retreat, Lee was put under arrest to be tried by court- 
martial. Putnam was now summoned to take the com- 
mand of troops in need of an officer of high rank. 
Congress had at last accepted the report of the Court of 
Inquiry and restored him to his old standing in the 
army. Before this final decision was reached, the 
General had sent by the hand of his son, Israel, a most 
urgent letter to Congress. It was dictated at Hart- 
ford in June. 

" I have waited with the utmost impatience for orders," he 
said, " but uoue having arrived ... I think there must be 
some mistake ... I must beg that the Hon'ble Congress 
will take this matter into their consideration, and grant that I 
may be acquitted and that with Honor or tried by a Genl. 
Court Martial ... so that My Character Might stand in a 
clearer light in the World ; but to be posted here as a publick 
spectator for every ill Minded person to make their remarks 
upon, I think is very poor encouragement for any person to 
venture their lives and fortunes in the Service." 

On receiving the welcome order to rejoin the main 
army, Putnam left Connecticut immediately for White 
Plains, to which place Washington, with the Connecti- 
cut regiments, had moved from Monmouth. The 
American force near Chatterton Hill and the old bat- 
tle-ground of 1776 presented a powerful front, this be- 
ing the largest number of troops brought together in a 
single encampment during the war. Putnam, on his 
arrival, was assigned to the command of the Virginia 
" Line," consisting of the brigades of Woodford, 
Muhlenberg, and Scott ; and he soon received orders 
to cross the Hudson, with his wing of the army, for the 



380 Israel Putnam [1778- 

security of West Point. Dr. James Thacher, the 
American surgeon at the Beverly Robinson House^ 
which had been converted into a hospital, met Putnam 
in the Highlands and noted down in his Military 
Journal, under date of September 8th, his impressions 
of the General : 

" Major-General Putnam has arrived in this vicinity, with 
the division of the Virginia and Maryland troops under his 
command, and they have encamped on the borders of the 
river. Brigadiers Woodford and Muhlenberg have taken up 
quarters in apartments in our hospital. This is my first inter- 
view with this celebrated hero [Putnam]. In his person he is 
corpulent and clumsy, but carries a bold, undaunted front. He 
exhibits little of the refinements of the well-educated gentle- 
man, but much of the character of the veteran soldier. He 
appears to be advanced to the age of about sixty years, and it is 
famed of him that he has, in many instances, proved himself as 
brave as Caesar. He visited our hospital, and inquired with 
much solicitude into the condition of our patients ; observing 
a considerable number of men who were infected with the 
ground itch, generated by lying on the ground, he inquired 
why they were not cured. I answered, ' because we have no 
hog's lard to make ointment.' ' Did you never,' said the Gen- 
eral, 'cure the itch with tar and brimstone?' 'No, Sir.' 
'Then,' replied he good humoredly, 'you are not fit for a 
doctor.' " 

The arrangement, whereby Putnam was again in the 
Highlands to watch the defences of the Hudson, was 
only a temporary one, for Washington knew that it 
would not be wise to keep the General, who had been 
severely criticised in the preceding campaign, long in 
the chief command there. " This State [New York] I 
am authorised to say," wrote Washington to Gates in 
September, "dislike General Putnam, and not reposing 
confidence in him, they will be uneasy if he should be 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 381 

left to command." At the time that these words were 
penned, the main Continental Army had marched from 
White Plains and was stationed in four divisions at 
different places. The brigades of Putnam, near West 
Point, constituted the first division ; Baron de Kalb 
was in command of the second division at Fishkill 
Plains ; a third division was with Lord Stirling in the 
vicinity of Fredericksburg ; and the fourth division, 
composed of the whole left wing of the army, was under 
Gates at Danbury. 

"These several posts appear to be the best we can occupy in 
the present doubtful state of things," said Washington in a 
letter from his headquarters at Fredericksburg to Congress, " as 
they have relation to the support of West Point, in case of an 
attack in that quarter, and are also on the communication to 
the eastward if the enemy point their operations that way. 
Besides these dispositions, Gen'l Scott, with a light corps, re- 
mains below in the County about King's Street." 

It became evident before long that the main object 
of the British for the remainder of the campaign of 
1778, was to strengthen their possession of New York. 
Putnam was alert to repel any sally of the enemy from 
the city. He was successful in driving back several 
detachments which were sent out against him at differ- 
ent times. One of the hostile incursions he reported 
to Washington in a letter written by his own hand. It 
is full of curiously misspelled words : 

" PiCKSKiLL, y^ 24 Sep' 177S. 
" Dear GINROL, — Larst night I received a Leator [letter] from 
Collo Spencor informing me that the Enimy had Landed at the 
English Naborwhod [neighbourhood] and ware on thar March 
to hackensack. I immedat called the ginrol ofesors togather 
to consult what was beast to be don it was concluded to Exam- 
min the mens gons and Cartridges && and to have them ready 



382 Israel Putnam [1778- 

for a March at the shortest notis when it shuld be thought beast 
or on receaving your Orders. I waited som tim for further In- 
telleganc but hearing non I rod down to Kings fary and on my 
way met 4 men with thar horses loded with bagig going back 
into the contry which said thay cam from within 2 milds [miles] 
of tarytown who said the Enimy had com out of New York in 
3 larg Colloms won [one] by the way of Maranack and won by 
taritown and won had gon into the jarsys [Jerseys] Just as I 
had got to the farry I meat won Cap' Jonston with a leator from 
Collo hay [Col. Hay] which informed me that the Enemy had 
got as fur as Sovalingboro church and was incamped thare and 
it was said thay war [were] waiteng for a wind to bring up the 
ships : the Enimy are colecting all the catel sheap and hogs 
thay can in this setuation shuld be glad of your Excelanceys 
ordors what to do "I am Sir with the gratest Estem 

"your humbel Sarveant 

"ISRAEi, Putnam." 

When the cold weather of late autumn began, the 
British settled into comfortable quarters in New York, 
and the Americans in the Highlands feeling less dan- 
ger of being attacked, indulged in occasional festivities. 
Surgeon Thacher tells of " an entertainment, by invi- 
tation of Brigadier-General Muhlenberg, who occupies 
a room in our hospital [Robinson House]." 

"The guests consisted of forty-one respectable officers, and 
our tables were furnished with fourteen different dishes, ar- 
ranged in fashionable style. After dinner, Major-General Put- 
nam was requested to preside, and displayed no less urbanity 
at the head of the table than bravery at the head of his division. 
A number of toasts were pronounced, accompanied with hu- 
mourous and merry songs. In the evening we were cheered with 
military music and dancing, which continued till a late hour in 
the night." 

Towards the last of November, Washington com- 
pleted arrangements for the' disposition of the Con- 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 383 

tinental Army for the winter. Most of the brigades 
were to be in the Highlands. Three brigades, com- 
posed of the New Hampshire and Connecticut troops 
and Hazen's regiment were to be posted in the vicinity 
of Danbury, Connecticut, " for the protection of the 
country lying along the Sound, to cov^er our magazines 
lying on the Connecticut River, and to aid the High- 
lands on any serious movement of the enemy that way." 
Putnam was to command at Danbury, McDougall in 
the Highlands, and Washington's own headquarters 
were to be at Middlebrook in New Jersey. Soon after 
the announcement that he was transferred to the East- 
ern Division, Putnam set out for Connecticut to take 
command of the troops over whom he had been 
appointed. Meanwhile McDougall returned to the 
Highlands, to be again in chief charge of the Hudson 
defences, 

A three-days' journey brought Putnam, about De- 
cember ist, to the winter camps in the sheltered valley, 
formed by the Saugatuck and its tributaries, which lie 
along the border line of what was then Danbury (now 
Bethel) and Redding. He established his headquarters 
in a farmhouse on Umpawaug Hill. Besides his sons 
Israel and Daniel, the General had in his " military 
family" the new aide-de-camp, appointed December 
18, 1778. This was David Humphreys, who had been 
Brigade-Major in Parsons's Brigade and who, after 
serving on Putnam's staff, became aide successively to 
Greene and Washington, a military career which, when 
the war was ended, this young officer (born 1753, in 
Derby, Connecticut) recited in verse, thus : 

" With what high Chiefs I play'd my early part. 
With Parsons first, whose eye, with piercing ken, 



3^4 Israel Putnam [1778- 

Reads through the hearts the characters of men ; 
Then how I aided, in the foll'wing scene, 
Death-daring Putnam — then immortal Greene — 
Then how great Washington my youth approv'd, 
In rank preferred, and as a parent lov'd." 

Another writer of patriotic and martial lines was 
a visitor at Putnam's headquarters — Joel Barlow, a 
native of Redding and graduate of Yale College, who, 
in his Cohimbiad, mentions among American heroes, 

" Putnam, scored with ancient scars. 
The living records of his country's wars." 

The same versifier of Revolutionary time com- 
memorated the General's brave efforts to rally the men 
at Bunker Hill, in this stirring stanza : 

" There strides bold Putnam, and from all the plains 
Calls the third host, the tardy rear sustains, 
And, 'mid the whizzing deaths that fill the air. 
Waves back his sword, and dares the foll'wing war." 

The comparative leisure of camp life at Redding gave 
some of the soldiers abundant opportunities to brood 
over their privations, and they succeeded in spreading 
discontent until a large number were ready to revolt, 
claiming that they had been suffering from want of 
clothes and blankets, that their pay was nothing, and 
that all engagements with them should be made good. 
On December 30th, the men of Huntington's brigade 
assembled under arms, determined to march to Hartford 
and demand of the lyCgislature redress of grievances. 
Putnam's tactful course in dealing with the mutinotis 
men — how he addressed them kindly and firmly and 
caused them to disperse quietly to their tents — is related 
by Humphreys, who was on the scene : 



J779] In the Recruiting Service 385 

" Word having been brought to General Putnam that the 
second brigade was under arms, he mounted his horse, galloped 
to the cantonment, and thus addressed them : ' My brave lads, 
whither are you going ? Do you intend to desert your officers, 
and to invite the enemy to follow you into the country ? Whose 
cause have you been fighting and suffering so long in — is it not 
your own ? Have you no property, no parents, wives, or chil- 
dren ? You have behaved like men so far — all the world is full 
of your praises — and posterity will stand astonished at your 
deeds, but not if you spoil all at last. Don't you consider how 
much the country is distressed by the war, and that your officers 
have not been any better paid than yourselves ? But we all 
expect better times, and that the country will do us ample jus- 
tice. Let us all stand by one another, then, and fight it out 
like brave soldiers. Think what a shame it would be for Con- . 
necticut men to run away from their officers.' 

"After the several regiments had received the General as he 
rode along the line, with drums beating and presented arms, 
the sergeants, who had then the command, brought the men to 
an order, in which position they continued while he was speak- 
ing. When he had done, he directed the acting Major of Bri- 
gade to give the word for them to shoulder, march to their 
regimental parades, and lodge arms ; all which they executed 
with promptitude and apparent good humour. One soldier only, 
who had been the most active, was confined in the quarter- 
guard ; from whence, at night, he attempted to make his escape. 
But the sentinel, who had also been in the mutiny, shot him 
dead on the spot, and thus the affair subsided." 

When Washington heard of the miitin}^ he wrote to 
Putnam, commending him for his success in quelling it.* 

Although the troops as a whole remained quiet during 
the winter, several soldiers deserted, in order to become 
spies for the enemy. Such men were summarily dealt 
with, when they were caught. Edward Jones and John 
Smith were put to death on the same day. There are 

* Official documents relating to the mutiny are among the 
Trumbull MSS. 
25 



386 Israel Putnam [1778- 

different versions of the execution, which took place on 
" Gallows Hill," near the Redding camp. It has been 
claimed that much inhumanity was shown toward the 
condemned deserters, but, according to several contem- 
poraneous accounts, the two men were not brutally 
treated. Probably the most correct description of the 
execution is by James Olmstead, who had a good 
opportunity of learning the truth from his father, an 
eye-witness : 

" My father, being an officer himself and well known to some 
of the officers on duty, was one of the few who were admitted 
within the enclosure formed by the troops around the place of 
execution, and able to witness all that there took place. After 
prayer by the Rev. Mr. Bartlett, the younger prisoner. Smith, 
was first brought forward to his doom. After he had been 
placed in position and his death warrant read, a file of soldiers 
was drawn up in a line with loaded muskets and the word of 
command given. The firing was simultaneous and he fell dead 
on the spot. After the smoke had cleared away it was found 
that his outer garment, a sort of frock or blouse, had been set 
on fire by the discharge, and it was extinguished by a sol- 
dier who had fired. He was within a few feet of the scaffold 
when Jones, pale and haggard, was next brought on, his death 
warrant was read and he seemed to recognise some few of his 
old friends, but said very little except to bid farewell to all, and 
his last words were, ' God knows I 'm not guilty,' and he was 
hurried into eternity. 

" My father had a pretty good general knowledge of General 
Putnam and his eccentricities, and had there been any unneces- 
sary hardships or severity used in the treatment of the pris- 
oners, he most certainly must have seen and known something 
of it, but in all I ever heard from him or any one else, no allu- 
sion was made to anything of the kind, and in view of all the 
circumstances I think it may be safe to infer that no such thing 
occurred on that occasion." * 



*From a letter originally published in the Danbury (Conn.) 
News. 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 387 

Over against this tragic event at Redding may be 
placed two anecdotes relating to Putnam. 

The first, which " presents the General in a very 
amiable light," is narrated by an old-time minister, 
Rev. Thomas F. Davies, in an historical sermon 
preached in 1839 at Green's Farms, Connecticut : 

"A poor man with a family needing support, and who lived 
in the neighbouring town of Ridgefield, was told by one ac- 
quainted with his wants that if he would visit General Putnam 
[at Redding] and hold a conversation with him, he would on his 
return and on proof of the fact give him a bushel of wheat. 
The temptation in that time of scarcity and taxes was great, 
and so also was the fear of intruding upon so distinguished an 
individual ; but the stern necessities of his condition at length 
induced the poor man to venture. He accordingly presented 
himself at headquarters and requested the servant to solicit for 
him an interview with the General. Putnam promptly sum- 
moned the man into his presence, directed him to be seated, 
and listened with interest while the man with great trepidation 
gave the statement which accounted for the liberty he had 
taken. The General directed the servant to bring some wine, 
conversed for a time very pleasantly with his needy visitor, and 
then, calling for pen and ink, wrote a certificate in which he 
gave the name of the individual, and stated that he had visited 
and conversed with General Putnam, who signed it in his official 
character. Thus furnished with the means of giving bread to 
his family, the distressed individual returned to his humble 
roof; and this anecdote, which I have on the very best author- 
ity, is proof that Putnam was not destitute of those kind and 
gentle affections which are so desirable an ornament of the 
most heroic character." 



The other anecdote is told by Charles B. Todd, in 
his History of Redding. Among the soldiers in camp 
was Tom Warrups, an Indian, who was one of Put- 
nam's most valued scouts. 



388 Israel Putnam [1778- 

"Totn had a weakness for liquor, which would have caused 
his expulsion from the camp had it not been for his services as 
scout and guide. One day he was seen deplorably drunk, and 
the officer of the day in disgust ordered him to be ridden out 
of the camp. A stout rail was brought, Tom was placed astride 
of it, four men hoisted it upon their shoulders, and the caval- 
cade started. On their way they met General Putnam with his 
aids making the rounds of the camp. 

" 'Tom,' said the General, sternly, ' how 's this? Aren't you 
ashamed to be seen riding out of camp in this way ? ' 

" ' Yes,' replied Tom with drunken gravity, ' Tom is ashamed, 
vera mooch ashamed, to see poor Indian ride and the General 
he go afoot.' " 



During the winter, the British made marauding ex- 
peditions from New York into Connecticut, and Putnam 
found it necessary to send out detachments from the 
Redding camp to watch the enemy. In the latter 
part of February, 1779, he himself was at Horseneck 
on a tour of supervision of the outposts. Here occurred 
his famous ride. It appears, from the British con 
temporary account in Rivington's Nciv Yo7^k Gazette, 
March 3, 1779, that at eleven o'clock on Thursday night, 
February 25th, Governor Tryon left Kingsbridge with 
a force of about fifteen hundred men, consisting of the 
17th, 44th, and 57th British regiments, one of the Hes- 
sians and two of new levies, for an incursion into Con- 
necticut to that part of Greenwich which extended into 
the Sound and which received its name from having 
been used for a pasture for horses. He intended to 
surprise the American outpost there and destroy the 
salt-works in the vicinitj^ which supplied an urgent 
need of the Continentals. The approach of the hostile 
troops was discovered by Captain Titus Hosmer and 
his men, who were on picket duty at some distance 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 389 

from Horseneck. We have Putnam's own account* 
of their brave attempt to retard the British: 

"A captain and thirty men were sent from our advanced 
lines from Horseneck who discovered the enemy at New 
Rochelle, in advance. They retired before them undiscovered 
as far as Rye Neck, where, it growing light, the enemy ob- 
served and attacked them. They defended themselves as well 
as possible and made their way good to Sawpitts, where they 
took advantage of a commanding piece of ground and made 
some little stand, but the superior force of the enemy obliged 
them to retire over Byram bridge, which they took up, and by 
that means had an opportunity of reaching Horseneck in 
safety." 

Arriving at Horseneck at full gallop. Captain 
Hosmer and his riders had just time to alarm the camp 
when Tryon and his marauders appeared in sight, 
about nine o'clock on Friday morning, February 26th. 
Traditions differ as to just where Putnam was at this 
hour. According to one account, he was staying with 
General Ebenezer Mead, a member of the Committee 
of Safety, and was in the front chamber, shaving. 
Suddenly he saw in the mirror, before which he was 
standing, a reflection of the red-coats advancing from 
the west. Half-shaven and with the lather still on his 
face, he grasped his sword, rushed out of the house, 
mounted his horse and started at high speed for the 
hill, half a mile distant, to rally his troops.f Another 



* Connecticut Historical Collections, by J. W. Barber, pp. 
381-382. 

f This hill, on which the Congregational meeting-house 
stood, was not the one down which Putnam made his famous 
ride. That hill was near the Episcopal Church. Some writers 
have become confused by not making this distinction in de- 
scribing the place of the exploit. 



390 Israel Putnam [1778- 

tradition says that Putnam was at the house of Captain 
John Hobby, which was located much nearer the hill, 
and that when the enemy approached, walking their 
horses, they saw Putnam with his coat on his arm, 
spring on his horse and gallop towards his men. The 
prevailing current of authority seems to indicate that 
Putnam was at the tavern kept by Israel Knapp, after- 
wards known as the Tracy place, and which was situated 
a short distance west of the brow of the precipice at 
Horseneck. But wherever the General was alarmed 
that morning, he was soon with his men on the hill 
where the Congregational meeting-house stood, and 
made rapid preparations to resist the British. It is 
most interesting to have his official report, dated March 
2, 1779, to Governor Trumbull, giving certain details 
of the affair : 

"As I was there myself," says Putnam, " to see the situation 
of the guards, I had the troops formed on a hill by the [Con- 
gregational] meeting-house, ready to receive the enemy as they 
advanced." 

The Americans numbered about one hundred and 
fifty — a force only one-tenth of the number under 
Tryon. Putnam continues by describing the approach 
of the hostile troops : 

"They came on briskly, and I soon discovered that their 
design was to turn our flanks and possess themselves of a defile 
in our rear, which would effectually prevent our retreat. I 
therefore ordered parties out on both flanks, with directions to 
give me information of their approach, that we might retire in 
season. In the meantime a column advanced up the main 
road, where the remainder of the troops (amounting to only 
about sixty) were posted." 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 391 

On came the soldiers of King George ; dragoons and 
infantry ready to charge. In the van were some of the 
most vindictive foes, — Delancey's corps of Tories. 

"We discharged some old field pieces," says Putnam, " which 
were there, a few times, aud gave them a small fire of musketry, 
but without any considerable effect; the superior force of the 
enemy soon obliged our small detachment to abandon the 
place. I therefore directed the troops to retire and form on a 
hill a little distance from Horseneck, while I proceeded to 
Stamford and collected a body of militia and a few Continental 
troops which were there, with which I returned immediately." 

But Putnam omits to mention what happened just 
after he had ordered his men to retreat a short distance 
across a swamp to a place inaccessible to horses, while 
he himself went for reinforcements. When he wheeled 
his horse into the main road towards Stamford, several 
British dragoons started to pursue him. He saw them 
coming. Over the frozen highway sped the General. 
The ring of steel-shod hoofs behind him told him how 
fast the enemy's chargers were gaining upon him. On- 
ward the old hero spurred, while the flying horsemen 
lessened the distance between themselves and their 
prize. A fourth of a mile was passed in the mad chase, 
and then the road curved sharply toward the north and 
led roiind a steep declivity. Out from the highway the 
intrepid Putnam leaped his steed and dashed straight on 
towards the precipice and forced his horse over the brow 
and down the rocky height. His pursuers — one of them 
had just been within two lengths of him on the road — 
reined in their horses in utter astonishment at sight of 
the General's reckless feat, and, not daring to follow 
him down the dangerous steep, fired their revolvers at 
him as he went. An eye-witness of the exploit used 



392 Israel Putnam [1778- 

to tell how Putnam waved back his sword with taunt- 
ing words to the baffled British, whose balls whizzed 
past him. One of the bullets pierced his military cap. 

Traditions differ as to just the course which the hero 
took in his descent. One is that he went down the 
entire length of an irregular rocky stair-way, formed 
by seventy or more rough stones, so arranged as to 
make a convenient approach from the plain below to 
the Episcopal Church, which stood near the crest of the 
Horseneck height. The other version says that Put- 
nam followed a cow-path diagonally across the hill and 
when he reached the stone steps he was two-thirds from 
the top. In either case, he reached the foot at the spot 
which is pointed out to-day. The hill, now called 
Putnam's or Put's Hill, has been cut through since 
Revolutionary days, and a causeway has been made at 
its base across the plain or meadow. When Lafayette, 
with whom Putnam probably became acquainted at 
White Plains in the autumn of 1778, visited the United 
States in 1824-25, he stopped at Greenwich on his tour 
through Connecticut. He was met by a large gather- 
ing of people, who accompanied him to the scene of 
Putnam's adventure, where an arch had been erected 
for the occasion. Lafayette left his carriage and walked 
down the hill, telling the members of the reception 
committee his great interest in the characteristic exploit 
of the General. 

The centennial commemoration of the renowned ride 
was observed with appropriate exercises at Greenwich 
in February, 1879. A granite boulder monument, 
bearing a tablet and inscription, was placed in 1900 on 
the historic hill to mark the locality of Putnam's re- 
markable feat. This memorial emphasises with vivid 
reality that although, on the one hand, the exploit has 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 393 

been disputed by some writers of Revolutionary 
events, and, on the other hand, has been romantically 
exaggerated in story-books and in numberless quaint 
drawings, paintings, and prints, — still Putnam's ride 
is well authenticated and can continue to be a favour- 
ite tale concerning the intrepid hero.* 

On that eventful day in Putnam's career, it appears 
that, in a farm-house situated about half a mile below 
the hill, a mother, busy over her milk-pans, heard the 
rapid beat of horse-hoofs coming down the road which 
led past the house. She rushed to the door to look for 
her four little girls, who had been playing outside and 
who might be in danger of being trampled upon. The 
hatless General, his long hair blowing about his round, 
kindly face, dashed up in front of the house and drew 
up his horse so suddenly as to pull him back on his 
haunches. " For God's sake, take your children in," 
Putnam called to the mother. " The British are upon 
us." After this momentary halt — an act of thought- 
fulness, like that of a personal friend, to warn the 
mother to find a hiding-place for her family,— the 
General put spurs to his horse and sped on towards 
Stamford. When Putnam returned to Horseneck 
with a reinforcement, which he obtained at Stamford, 
he found the enemy gone. They had destroyed the 
salt works as well as a sloop and store at Coscob, and 
had pillaged many of the houses in Greenwich. 

" The officer commanding the Continental troops stationed at 
Horseneck," writes Putnam, referring to Colonel Holdridge, 

* See Historical Address by Col. H. W. R. Hoyt, delivered 
February 22, 1879, at Greenwich, Conn. ; D. M. Mead's His- 
tory of Greenwich, Conn., pp. 163-170 ; B. J. Lossing's Pictor- 
ial Field-Book of the American Revolution, vol. i., pp. 411- 
413 ; and The Outlook, vol, Ixv., pp. 620-622. 



394 Israel Putnam [1778- 

wbom he had ordered to retreat a short distance with the men 
that morning, while he himself rode to Stamford for help, 
"mistook my orders and went much farther than I intended, 
so that he could not come up with them [the British] to any 
advantage. I, however, ordered the few troops that came from 
Stamford to pursue them, thinking they might have an oppor- 
tunity to pick up some stragglers. In this I was not mistaken, 
as your Excellency [Governor Trumbull] will see by the list of 
prisoners. Besides these, eight or nine more were taken and 
sent off, so that I cannot tell to which particular regiments 
they belonged ; one ammunition and one baggage waggon were 
taken. In the former there were about two hundred rounds of 
canister, grape, and round shot, suited to three-pounders, some 
slow matches, and about two hundred tubes ; the latter was 
filled with plunder, which I had the satisfaction of restoring to 
the inhabitants from whom it was taken. As I have not yet 
got a return, I cannot tell exactly the number we lost, though 
I don't think more than ten soldiers and about that number of 
inhabitants, but a few of which were in arms. 

" Ivist of prisoners taken at Horseneck the 26th [February] : 
17th Regiment, 15 privates; 44th do., 5 privates; 57th do., 3 
privates; Ivoyal American Regiment, 5 ; Emmerich's corps, 8; 
First Battalion of Artillery, i ; Pioneers, i— Total 38. N.B. 
Seven deserters from Emmerick's corps." 



In appreciation of Putnam's kind treatment of the 
wounded prisoners, who were soon afterwards ex- 
changed, and also in recognition of his bravery in 
making the perilous descent at Horseneck, Governor 
Tryon is said to have sent the General the present of 
a new suit of military clothes, including a chapeau to 
replace the cap which was pierced by the British bullet. 

During March, 1779, Putnam continued on guard 
with the troops in Connecticut and was more or less 
successful in thwarting the attempts of the British to 
commit depredations on the towns along the coast of 
lyong Island Sound. When the time drew near for the 




GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM'S SADDLE. 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 395 

opening of the new campaign, he issued orders at Red- 
ding camp on April nth to his officers and men that 
they " lose no time in Preparing for the field, that they 
may be ready to leave their present Quarters at the 
Shortest Notice." A few days later, the General made 
a trip eastward. He appeared before the General As- 
sembly of Connecticut, and urged that legislative body 
to furnish additional troops for the brigades under his 
command. On his return to Redding, he wrote to 
Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, at whose house at Hart- 
ford he had recently spent a night. The holograph 
letter is now owned by the Connecticut Historical So- 
ciety. To attempt to read this original production is 
like working at a conundrum : 

"Reading y<= ii of May 1779 
"Dear Sir, — on my arival to this Plas [place] I could hear 
nothing of my hard mony and so must conclud it is gon to the 
dogs we have no nus [news] hear [here] from hoad-Quartors 
not alin [a line] senc I cam hear and what my destination is to 
be this Summor cant even so much as Geuss [guess] but shuld 
be much abliged to you if you would be so good as to send me 
by the teems the Lym [lime] juice you was so good as to offor 
me and a par [pair] of shoos [shoes] I left undor the chambor 
tabel : I begin to think the nues [news] from the sutherd 
[southward] is tru of ginrol Ivintous [General Benjamin Lin- 
coln] having a batel [battle] and commiug of[f] [In] the leator 
it is said he killed 200 hundred and took 500 hundred what 
maks me creudit it is becaus the acounts in the New York 
papors exactly agree with ours.* 

* It is uncertain just what engagement in the South, Putnam 
refers to in this letter. In any case the report of American 
success proved to be exaggerated, for although General Lincoln 
managed to keep the British troops below the Savannah River 
for a time, he and the largest part of his army were made pris- 
oners at Charleston, S. C, by the enemy's force under Sir 
Henry Clinton. 



39^ Israel Putnam [1778- 

" My beast Respeacts to your I^ady and sistors and Letel 
soon [little son] 

" I am dear sir with the greatest respects 
" Your most obed [ient] and humbel Sarvant 
" ISRAEiv Putnam." 

Putnam, who was so desirous to know where he was 
to serve in the campaign, was, a few days later, as- 
signed to the important command of the right wing of 
the army, on the west side of the Hudson, headquarters 
at Smith's Clove. It included the Virginia, Maryland, 
and Pennsylvania divisions. On receiving news of his 
appointment, the General made arrangements to go 
immediately to his new post. Just before he left Red- 
ding, he issued, on May 27th, this farewell order : 

" Maj-General Putnam being about to take command of one 
of the Wings of the Grand Army, before he leaves the Troops 
who have served under him the winter past, thinks it his Duty 
to Signify to them his entire approbation of their Regular and 
Soldier like Conduct, and wishes them (wherever they may 
happen to be out) a Successful and Glorious Campaign." * 

Soon after Putnam's departure from Redding, all the 
Connecticut troops in camp there were marched to the 
Highlands, by way of Ridgefield, Bedford, and Fish- 
kill, to serve on the east side of the Hudson in the 
Continental force under Major-General Heath. 

The site of the camp of the soldiers whom Putnam 
commanded at Redding in the winter of 1778-79, is 
now marked by Putnam Memorial Park, in which a 
monument has been erected by the State ot Connecti- 
cut to the memory of the men who were stationed 
there. Block-houses and log-cabins, in imitation of the 

* Record of Connecticut Men During the Revolution, Adju- 
tant-General's Office, Hartford. 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 397 

ancient camp, have also been built, while of special and 
pathetic interest in the park is the long double line of 
stones in heaps which were the fire-places in the rude 
huts of the soldiers. 

Important events in the campaign of 1779 occurred 
about the time of Putnam's arrival at Smith's Clove. 
On May 31st, the British advanced up the Hudson and 
captured Stony Point and, on the next day, they com- 
pelled the surrender of Fort Lafayette, which stood on 
the opposite shore at Verplanck's Point. It was evi- 
dent to the Americans that the possession of these 
posts by the British was the beginning of hostile 
operations against West Point. Washington realised 
the necessity of being situated where he could, at the 
best advantage, attend to different parts of the army 
on both sides of the Hudson River. He accordingly 
established his headquarters at New Windsor, on June 
23rd, leaving Putnam in immediate charge of the main 
body of troops, which had marched from Middlebrook 
to Smith's Clove. McDougall commanded at West 
Point. On the east side of the Hudson were the bri- 
gades under Heath, namely — Nixon's at Constitution 
Island, Parsons' s opposite to West Point, and Hunting- 
ton's on the principal road leading to Fishkill. 

The British, instead of advancing farther up the 
river after Stony Point and Fort Lafayette had fallen 
into their hands, devoted their attention to a series ot 
marauding expeditions along the coast. Connecticut 
suffered especially from the cruel incursions. Wash- 
ington was quick to fathom the purpose ot the enemy, 
who hoped by diversions to induce him to send away 
a part of his force from the Highlands and thus expose 
West Point to an attack. In order to relieve Connecti- 
cut from British ravages and to strengthen his own 



39^ Israel Putnam [1778- 

position on the Hudson, Washington planned no less 
daring a stroke than an attempt to recover Stony 
Point. He entrusted the enterprise to Anthony- 
Wayne ; and, at midnight of July 15th, that bold 
officer, with a detachment of twelve hundred light in- 
fantr}^ surprised and captured the stronghold in a 
brilliant assault, which won praises even from the 
enemy. Immediately after the victory the works 
were demolished and the garrison, with the cannon 
and stores, were removed, Washington not thinking it 
prudent to retain the fortress. The object in storming 
Stony Point was accomplished, for the British left 
Connecticut. Their progress up the river to re-occupy 
their old position was impeded as much as possible by 
the Americans; and now again we find Putnam actively 
engaged in a kind of military duty that was much to 
his liking. Notwithstanding the brave General's at- 
tempts to drive back the British, the enemy succeeded 
in regaining possession of Stony and Verplanck's 
Points. The American troops were then concentrated 
about West Point. Washington established his head- 
quarters there and urged forward the construction of 
the works which had been begun. Putnam, who was 
stationed at Buttermilk Falls, two miles below West 
Point, retained the immediate command of the right 
wing of the army. 

" He was happy," writes Humphreys in his reminiscences of 
the General, " in possessing the friendship of the officers of that 
line, and in living on terms of hospitality with them. Indeed, 
there was no family in the army that lived better than his own. 
The General, his second son, Major Daniel Putnam, and the 
writer of these memoirs composed that family." 

There was little change in the general situation of 



1779] In the Recruiting Service 399 

affairs on the Hudson or around New York until about 
October 21st, when the enemy destroyed and abandoned 
their defences at Stony and Verplanck's Points, This 
movement was preliminary to the departure of Sir 
Henry Clinton from New York to attempt the captur2 
of Charleston, S. C. As soon as the Hudson was thus 
free from British restraint, the Americans moved down 
the river and took possession of King's Ferry. So 
urgent was the need of troops in South Carolina that 
Washington detached from his army all the Virginia 
and North Carolina regiments and sent them South \o 
aid in resisting the British. In November he com- 
pleted preparations for wintering in New Jersey the 
troops that remained in the North. Putnam, who was 
to be with the Commander-in-chief at headquarters at 
Morristown, was given leave of absence in November 
for a brief visit home. He was accompanied to Con- 
necticut by his son Daniel and Aide-de-camp Hum- 
phreys. How little the General realised that his 
military career was ended ! 




CHAPTER XXV 



.AST YEARS 




1779-1790 

N December, 1779, after nearly a fort- 
night's visit at home, Putnam set out 
on horseback to rejoin the arm3^ which 
had gone into winter quarters at Mor- 
ristown, N. J. On the road between 
Pomfret and Hartford, he felt, saj-s 
Humphreys, " an unusual torpor slowly pervading his 
right hand and foot." The strange heavy sensation 
crept gradually on until, by the time that Putnam 
reached the house of his friend, Colonel Jeremiah 
Wadsworth at Hartford, his entire right side was 
aflfected. The General could not believe that his ail- 
ment was paralysis, and so, after a brief rest, he tried 
to shake off the numb feeling by exercise. The dis- 
ease, however, was upon him, and he soon found that 
he must give up the thought of proceeding on his way. 
As is often the case with men of high emotion, he 
was thrown by his disappointment into a state of 
temporary dejection, but on reaching home, where he 
was taken as soon as practicable, he recovered, after 
a little time, his usual cheerfulness. 

He passed a comfortable winter in the care of his 
400 



I779-90] Last Years 401 

aflfectionate sons and daughters. Mehitable, Mary, 
and Eunice — respectively Mrs. Daniel Tyler, Mrs. 
Zachariah Waldo, and Mrs. Elisha Avery (afterwards 
Mrs. Lemuel Grosvenor) — were living in Pomfret and 
went to see their father as often as possible at the old 
homestead, where he made his home with the family of 
his eldest son. Both Israel, Jr., and Daniel spent the 
winter in Pomfret. 

Four months after the hero w^as " laid up in ordi- 
nary," he received a visit from David Humphreys, who, 
being greatly attached to the General, wished to see 
him again before returning to the army. In a Letter 
to a Young Lady in Boston, written at New Haven, 
in 1780, Putnam's former aide-de-camp describes in 
V'trse his journey from the Massachusetts capital to 
Pomfret, and his brief sojourn with the General : 

" The sun, to our New World now present. 
Brought in the day benign and pleasant ; 
The day, by milder fates attended, 
Our plagues at Gen'ral Putnam 's ended. 
That chief, though ill, received our party 
With joy, and gave us welcome hearty ; 
The good old man, of death not fearful, 
Retained his mind and temper cheerful ; 
Retain'd (with palsy sorely smitten) 
His love of country, pique for Britain ; 
He told of many a deed and skirmish. 
That basis for romance might furnish ; 
The stories of his wars and woes. 
Which I shall write in humble prose, 
Should Heaven (that fondest schemes can mar) 
Protract my life beyond this war." 

It was not until eight N^ears after these lines were 
penned that Humphreys accomplished his plan for the 
biography of Putnam. 



402 Israel Putnam [1779- 

When Humphreys returned to the army at the 
beginning of the new campaign of 1780, to serve as 
Washington's aide-de-camp, he carried with him a 
letter of hopeful tone from Putnam to the Commander- 
in-chief. It read as follows : 

" POMFRET, 29 May, 1780. 

" Dear Sir, — I cannot forbear informing your Excellency, 
by the return of Major Humphreys to camp, of the state of my 
health from the first of my illness to the present time. After 
I was prevented from coming on to the army by a stroke of 
the paralytic kind, which deprived me, in a great measure, 
of the use of my right leg and arm, I retired to my plantation 
and have been gradually growing better ever since. I have 
now so far gained the use of my limbs, especially of my leg, 
as to be able to walk with very little impediment, and to ride 
on horseback tolerably well. In other respects I am in per- 
fect health, and enjoy the comforts and pleasures of life with 
as good a relish as most of my neighbours. 

"Although 1 should not be able to resume a command in 
the army, I propose to myself the happiness of making a 
visit, and seeing my friends there some time in the course of 
the campaign. And, however incapable I may be of serving 
my country, to my latest hour my wishes and prayers will 
always be most ardent and sincere for its happiness and free- 
dom. As a principal instrument in the hand of Providence for 
effecting this, may Heaven long preserve your Excellency's 
most important and valuable life. 

"Not being able to hold the pen in my own hand, I am 
obliged to make use of another to express with how much 
regard and esteem, I am, your Excellency's 

" Most obedient and very humble servant, 

' ' Israel Putnam. 

"P. S. I am making a great effort to use my hand to make 

the initials of my name for the first time. 

"LP." 

Washington replied : 



i79o] Last Years 403 

" Head-Quarters, 5 July, 1780. 

" Dear Sir, — I am very happy to learn from your letter 
of the 29th [of May] handed me by Major Humphreys, that 
the present state of your health is so flattering, and that it 
promises you the prospect of being in a condition to make a 
visit to your old associates some time this campaign. I wish 
it were in my power to congratulate you on a complete re- 
covery. I should feel a sincere satisfaction in such an event, 
and I hope for it heartily, with the rest of your friends in this 
quarter. 

" I am, dear Sir, &c., 

"G. Washington." 

Putnam was not to be disappointed in his earnest 
desire to visit the army. We find him at Tappan in 
the autumn of 1780. " General Putnam is here," 
wrote General Greene in closing a letter to his wife 
from that place in September, " talking as usual, and 
telling his old stories, which prevents my writing more. 
The old gentleman, notwithstanding the late paralytical 
shock, is very cheerful and social." * 

Putnam was in the camp at the time of the discovery 
of the dark plot of Benedict Arnold to betray West 
Point into the hands of the enemy, and he shared in all 
the excited indignation occasioned by that base treason. 
With keen interest, after his return home, the General 
awaited tidings of the progress of military affairs, and 
no patriot rejoiced more than he over the victory that 
finally crowned the American arms. When peace was 
made and independence firmly established, Putnam 
wrote to Washington, congratulating him on the splen- 
did success of the cause which had been so dear to both 
their hearts. The letter which came in reply the 



* G. W. Greene, Life of Major-General Nathanael Greene, 
vol. ii., p. 233. 



404 Israel Putnam [1779- 

General treasured with great pride. Here is Wash- 
ington's letter to Putnam : 

"Head-Quarters, 2 June, 1783. 

"Dear Sir, — Your favor of the 20th of May I received 
■with much pleasure ; for I can assure you, that, among the 
many worthy and meritorious officers with whom I have had 
the happiness to be connected in service through the course 
of this war, and from whose cheerful assistance and advice 
I have received much support and confidence, in the various 
and trying vicissitudes of a complicated contest, the name of 
a Putnam is not forgotten ; nor will it be but with that stroke 
of time, which shall obliterate from my mind the remembrance 
of all those toils and fatigues, through which we have struggled 
for the preservation and establishment of the rights, liberties, 
and independence of our country. 

"Your congratulations on the happy prospects of peace and 
independent security, with their attendant blessings to the 
United States, I receive with great satisfaction ; and beg that 
you will accept a return of my gratulations to you on this 
auspicious event ; an event, in which, great as it is in itself, 
and glorious as it will probably be in its consequences, you 
have a right to participate largely, from the distinguished 
part you have contributed towards its attainment. 

"But while I contemplate the greatness of the object for 
which we have contended, and felicitate you on the happy 
issue of our toils and labors, which have terminated with 
such general satisfaction, I lament that you should feel the 
ungrateful returns of a country, in whose service you have ex- 
hausted your bodily health, and expended the vigor of a youth- 
ful constitution. I wish, however, that your expectations of 
returning sentiments of liberality may be verified. I have a 
hope, they may ; but, should they not, your case will not be 
a singular one. Ingratitude has been experienced in all ages, 
and republics in particular have ever been famed for the 
exercise of that unnatural and sordid vice. 

"The secretary of war, who is now here, informs me that 
you have ever been considered as entitled to full pay since your 
absence from the field : and that you will be still considered 



t79o] Last Years 4^5 

in that light till the close of the war, at which period 30U will 
be equally entitled to the same emolument of half-pay or com- 
mutation as other officers of your rank. The same opinion 
is also given by the paymaster-general, who is now with the 
army, empowered by Mr. Morris for the settlement of all their 
accounts, and who will attend to yours whenever you shall 
think proper to send on for the purpose ; which it will pro- 
bably be best for you to do in a short time. 

" I anticipate with pleasure the day, and that I trust not far 
off, when I shall quit the busy scenes of a military employment, 
and retire to the more tranquil walks of domestic life. In 
that, or whatever other situation Providence may dispose my 
future days, the remembrance of the many friendships and 
connections I have had the happiness to contract with the 
gentlemen of the army will be one of my most grateful reflec- 
tions. Under this contemplation, and impressed with the 
sentiments of benevolence and regard, I commend you, my 
dear Sir, my other friends, and with them the interests and 
happiness of our dear country to the keeping and protection 
of Almighty God. 

" I have the honor to be, &c., 

" G. Washington." 

Putnam received frequent visits at his home from old 
comrades and friends and relatives, and he took keen 
delight in entertaining them with his reminiscences. 
"He gave me," says his guest Judge Samuel Putnam,* 
" a great many anecdotes of the war in which he had 
been engaged before the Revolution, tracing the re- 
markable events upon a map." These " anecdotes " 
included the hero's experiences as a prisoner in the 
forest when the Indians, after binding him to a tree 
to burn him alive, danced and yelled around him. 
" General Putnam said that their gestures in the dance 
were so inexpressibly ridiculous that he could not for- 
bear laughing. I expressed some surprise that he could 

* IvCtter to Colonel Perley Putnam. 



4o6 Israel Putnam [1779- 

laugh under such circumstances, to which he mildly- 
replied that his composure had no merit, that it was 
constitutional, and said that he had never felt any- 
bodily fear." 

Two stories concerning himself, Putnam was espe- 
cially fond of telling in his old age, so we learn from 
family annals. On one occasion, the General, without 
intending an insult, happened to offend a brother officer 
by some remark. The latter, who was very hot- 
tempered, demanded instant reparation ; and it was 
arranged that a duel should take place on the following 
morning and that they should fight without seconds. 
At the appointed time the ofiicer appeared, armed with 
sword and pistols, but before he could take his posi- 
tion, Putnam, who was already on the ground, quickly 
stepped back a distance of thirty rods, levelled his gun 
and fired. " What are you doing? " cried the officer, 
running towards Putnam, who was reloading his 
weapon for the apparent purpose of firing again. 
" What am I doing ? " replied the General ; " a pretty 
question to ask a man whom you intended to murder ! 
I am going to kill you, and if you don't beat a retreat 
in less time than it would take old Heath to hang a 
Tory, you are a gone dog ! " While uttering these 
words, Putnam returned his ramrod to its place, threw 
the butt of his gun into the hollow of his shoulder, and 
took aim at his antagonist. The would-be duellist 
forthwith turned and fled for dear life. 

The other favourite story, which Putnam used to 
enjoy telling, was how he once criticised the British 
severely in the presence of several persons, among 
whom was a British officer, a prisoner on his parole, 
who felt that he was personally insulted, and sent Put- 
nam a challenge to a duel. It was accepted, with the 




PUTNAM'S DUEL WITH THE BRITISH OFFICER. 



I790] Last Years 407 

agreement that they should meet the next morning 
without seconds, and that Putnam himself should pro- 
vide the weapons. What was the surprise of the 
Englishman on arriving at the appointed place to find 
Putnam sitting beside a powder-barrel, calmly smoking 
a pipe. Bidding the officer take a seat on the other 
side, Putnam lighted a match, which had been placed 
in a small opening in the head of the barrel, and in a 
nonchalant tone remarked that there was an equal 
chance for them both. The officer in fright sprang to 
escape from the impending explosion, which followed 
immediately, when Putnam said : " You are just as 
brave a man as I thought," and then explained that 
only a thin layer of powder covered the top of the bar- 
rel, which was filled with vegetables. 

Putnam retained as a citizen his interest in local 
affairs, especially when the town of Brooklyn was set 
off from Pomfret. It was about this time that he 
strongly opposed the opening of another tavern. He 
stated his reasons in a letter, which he dictated to a 
member of his household and sent to the Windham 
County Court : 

" Brooklyn, Feb. i8, 1782. 
"GentIvEMEN, — Being an enemy to Idleness, Dissipation, 
and Intemperance, I would object against any measures which 
may be conducive thereto ; and the multiplying of public 
houses, where the public good does not require it, has a direct 
tendency to ruin the morals of youth, and promote idleness and 
intemperance among all ranks of people, especially as the 
grand object of the candidates for licenses is money ; and, when 
that is not the case, men are not over apt to be tender of 
people's morals or purses. The authorities of this town, I 
think, have run into a great error in approbating an additional 
number of public houses, especially in this parish. They have 
approbated two houses in the centre, where there never was 



4o8 Israel Putnam [1779- 

custom (I mean travelling custom) enough for one. The other 
custom (the domestic) I have been informed, has, of late years, 
increased ; and the licensing another house, I fear, would in- 
crease it more. As I kept a public house here myself a num- 
ber of years before the war, I had an opportunity of knowing, 
and certainly do know, that the travelling custom is too trifling 
for a man to lay himself out so as to keep such a house as trav- 
ellers have a right to expect. Therefore, I hope your Honours 
will consult the good of this parish, so as to license only one 
of the two houses. I shall not undertake to say which ought 
to be licensed. Your Honours will act according to your best 
information. 

" I am, with esteem, 

" Your Honour's humble servant, 

" ISRAEi, Putnam. 
"To the Honourable County Court, to be holden at Wind- 
ham on the 19th instant." 

In an address, delivered at Putnam, Connecticut, on 
October 25, 1855, at a meeting of the descendants of 
the General, his great-grandson, Rev. h. Grosvenor, 
said : 

"He [General Putnam] is described by those now living, 
who frequently saw him in his old age, as being very large 
around the chest, showing what we would expect from his 
habits, a great amount of the sanguine, vital temperament. 
Even after his final return from the wars, when one side of him 
was so paralysed that his right arm clung close and useless to 
his side, and he had to be assisted to mount his horse, he rode 
almost every day on horseback, 'sitting up as straight as a 
boy.' " 

Putnam regained his strength to such a degree that 
he was able, as late as in 1786, to make a journey to 
his birthplace in Massachusetts. He was accompanied 
thither by his coloured man, Dick. Says Judge Samuel 
Putnam, in his reminiscences of the General ; 



, \ 



I790] Last Years 409 

" He rode on horseback from Brooklyn to Danvers and paid 
his last visit to his friends there. On his way home he stopped 
at Cambridge at the College, where the governor of the College 
paid him much attention. It was in my junior year; he came 
into my room. His speech was much affected by palsy." 

It was soon after Putnam's return from his visit to 
Massachusetts that his son Israel joined the Ohio Com- 
pjny, which had been organised by General Rufus 
Putnam and others, and removed with his family to 
the West. At this time, Daniel, who had married 
Catharine Hutchinson in 1782, was living on a farm 
of his own which had once belonged to Godfrey Mal- 
bone's estate. The General's youngest son, Peter 
Schuyler Putnam, who had recently brought his bride, 
Lucy Frink, to the Putnam homestead, assumed full 
charge of the old farm. Here the veteran continued 
to spend his last days, in the house which he himself 
had built in the early period of his life in Connecticdt, 
and which since then had been considerably enlarged. 

This pleasant glimpse of Putnam is given by his 
great-grandson, the minister Grosvenor, in the address 
of 1855 : 

" Many anecdotes are related of his energy and perseverance 
in the days of his bodily feebleness. Those who are old now, 
but boys then, remember, and tell with delight, about the 
General's spirited bay mare, and the perfect mastery which he 
maintained over her, bringing her at any time to a dead halt, 
by shaking the head of his ivory-headed cane. He was fre- 
quently seen at the houses of his sons and daughters in 
Brooklyn and Pomfret, and at the raisings and other gather- 
ings and merrymakings in the neighbourhood. There, seated 
in some arm-chair, promptly brought forward by the young 
men for his comfort, he leaning like another old patriarch on 
the top of his staff, surrounded by a crowd of children and 
grandchildren, and friends and neighbours, related abundant 



4IO Israel Putnam [1779- 

anecdotes of the olden time, while his happy audience greeted 
with loud laughter the outflowings of his ready wit and his 
kindly and genial humour." 

On Sundays Putnam was not prevented by his physi- 
cal infirmity from attending the services at the Congre- 
gational meeting-house. He even ventured out in the 
evening to the prayer-meetings, and would add his 
religious testimony to that of others. There is a story 
that once a brother Christian made some pointed re- 
marks, expressing doubt as to the possibility of effectual 
grace being granted to a person who had ever been 
addicted to profanity. The General forthwith arose 
and confessed the failing which he had finally over- 
come, but he added, with a twinkle in his eye, " It was 
enough to make an angel swear at Bunker Hill to see 
the rascals nm away from the British ! " 

In the autumn of 1787, Putnam received a welcome 
visit from Humphreys, who had recently returned 
from Europe, where he had been on diplomatic service. 
Putnam, so his friend found, " retained unimpaired 
his relish for enjoyment, his love of pleasantry, his 
strength of memory, and all the faculties of his mind." 
He was easily induced to repeat the principal incidents 
of his eventful life, while his visitor undertook the 
pleasing task of committing them to paper as material 
for the proposed biography. It was at Mt. Vernon, 
the home of Washington, that Humphreys wrote the 
Essay on the Life of the Honourable Major- General Put- 
nam for the Connecticut State Society of Cincinnati, 
which was published in 1788, while the hero was still 
living. 

"It occurred to me," says Humphreys in this book, "that 
an attempt to preserve the actions of General Putnam, in the 



i79o] Last Years 411 

archives of our State Society, would be acceptable to its mem- 
bers, as they had all served with great satisfaction under his 
immediate orders. General Putnam is universally acknow- 
ledged to have been as brave and as honest a man as ever 
America produced, but the distinguishing features of his char- 
acter, and the particular transactions of his life are but im- 
perfectly known. He seems to have been formed on purpose 
for the age in which he lived. His native courage, unshaken 
integrity, and established reputation as a soldier, were neces- 
sary in the early stages of our opposition to the designs of 
Great Britain and gave unbounded confidence to our troops in 
their first conflicts in the field of battle. ... In patient 
yet fearless expectation of the approach of the King of Terrors, 
whom he hath full often faced in the field of blood, the Chris- 
tian hero now enjoys in domestic retirement the fruit of his 
early industry." 

On Thursday, May 27, 1790, Putnam was violently 
attacked by an inflammatory disease. He rapidly 
failed, and it was soon evident that his end was near. 
His mind was clear to the last. He passed away, 
" calm and resigned," on Saturday, May 29th. The 
funeral was on Tuesday, June ist. ^\\^ Independence 
Chronicle and Universal Advertiser of June 10, 1790, 
contained the following account of the burial service : 

" Brooklyn, Conn., June 3, 1790. — Saturday last died here, 
after a short illness, in the 73d year of his age, that celebrated 
hero, patriot, and philanthropist, Israel Putnam, Esq., Major- 
General in the late Continental Army. He enjoyed his reason 
to the last moments of his life, and with remarkable cheerful- 
ness and solid satisfaction, left this for the everlasting rewards 
of a better and more glorious country, and on Tuesday his 
funeral was attended by the largest and most respectable col- 
lection of the inhabitants ever known here on a like occasion. 
After a well adapted sermon was delivered by Rev. Josiah 
Whitney, the procession moved to the burying ground in tho 
following order : 



412 Israel Putnam [1770- 

Company of Grenadiers, 

Militia of the Town, with reversed arms, 

Music, 

Company of Artillery, 

Free Masons in the badges of their order, 

Bearers— The Corpse —Bearers, 

Mourners, 

The Clergy, 

The Church of Brooklyn, 

Military Officers, 

Inhabitants. 

"When the procession had arrived at the burying ground, 
the troops opening to the right and left, the Masons passed on 
to the grave, and after performing their accustomed ancient 
ceremonies and pronouncing a short eulogium on the character 
of the deceased, the Grenadiers advanced and three platoons 
fired, which was succeeded by a discharge from the artillery. 
The whole was concluded with that order and decorum which 
the love and respect of the inhabitants inspired." 

The funeral sermon by the Rev. Dr. Whitney was 
soon afterwards printed in pamphlet form. In closing 
this discourse, on the text from Ecclesiastes vii., 2, 
" That is the end of all men; and the living will lay it 
to his heart," — Putnam's old pastor and friend spoke 
with feeling of the hero's character. He said of the 
General : 

" He was eminently a person of a public spirit — an unshaken 
friend to liberty ; and was proof against attempts to induce 
him to betray and desert his country ; the baits to do so were 
rejected with the utmost abhorrence. He was of a kind, bene- 
volent disposition — pitiful to the distressed — charitable to the 
needy — ready to assist all who wanted his help. In his family 
— he was the tender, affectionate husband— the provident father 
— an example of industry and close application to business. 
He was a constant attendant upon the public worship of God, 
from his youth up. He brought his family with him, when he 
came to worship the Lord, He was not ashamed of family 
religion— his house was a house of prayer. For many years he 
was a professor of religion. In the last years of his life he 



I790] Last Years 413 

often expressed a great regard for God and the things of God. 
There is one at least to whom he freely disclosed the workings 
of his mind — his conviction of sin — grief for it— dependence on 
God through the Redeemer, for pardon — and hope of a happy 
future existence whenever his heart and strength should fail 
him. This one makes mention hereof for the satisfaction and 
comfort of his children and friends ; and can add, that being with 
the General a little before he died, asked him whether his hope 
of future happiness (as formerly expressed) now attended him ? 
His answer was in the aflSrmative, with a declaration of his 
resignation to the will of God and willingness even then to die." 

The eulogium pronounced at the grave of Putnam 
by Dr. Albigence Waldo, and published in the In- 
dependence Chronicle of June 24, 1790, and in Thomas's 
Massachusetts Spy, was as follows : 

"Those venerable relics! once delighted in the endearing 
domestic virtues, which constitute the excellent neighbour — 
husband — parent — and worthy brother ! liberal and substantial 
in his friendship ; — unsuspicious — open — and generous ; — ^just 
and sincere in dealing ; — a benevolent citizen of the world — He 
concentrated in his bosom the noble qualities of an Honest Man, 

"Born a hero, — whom nature taught and cherished in the 
lap of innumerable toils and dangers, he was terrible in battle ! 
But, from the amiableness of his heart — when carnage ceased, 
his humanity spread over the field, like the refres.hing zephyrs 
of a summer's evening ! — The prisoner — the wounded — the sick 
— the forlorn — experienced the delicate sympathy of this Sol- 
dier's Pillar — The poor, and the needy, of every description, 
received the charitable bounties of this Christian Soldier. 

"He pitied littleness — loved goodness — admired greatness, 
and ever aspired to its glorious summit ! The friend, the serv- 
ant, and almost unparalleled lover of his country ; — worn with 
honourable age and the former toils of war — Putnam ! ' Rests 
from his labours.' 

" Till mouldering worlds and tumbling systems burst ! 
When the last trump shall renovate his dust — 
Still by the mandate of eternal truth, 
His soul will ' flourish in immortal youth. ' 

"This all who knew him know ; — this all who lov'd him, tell.** 



414 Israel Putnam [1779- 

The General was buried in the Brooklyn cemetery. 
A tomb two or three feet high was built of brick, and 
across the top was placed a marble slab with this 
epitaph by the Rev. Timothy Dwight, who, five years 
later, became the President of Yale College, and who 
had been intimately acquainted with the hero in private 
and public life : 

To the memory 

Of 

Israel Putnam, Esquire, 

Senior Major General in the Armies 

Of 

The United States of America 

Who 

Was born at Salem 

In the Province of Massachusetts 

On the seventh day of January 

A.D. 1718: 

And died 

On the twenty ninth day of May 

A.D. 1790: 

Passenger 

If thou art a Soldier 

Drop a Tear over the dust of a Hero 

Who 

Ever attentive 

To the lives and happiness of his Men 

Dared to lead 

Where any Dared to follow ; 

If a Patriot 

Remember the distinguished and gallant services 

Rendered thy Country 

By the Patriot who sleeps beneath this Monument ; 

If thou art Honest, generous & worthy 

Render a cheerful tribute of respect 

To a Man 

Whose generosity was singular 

Whose honesty was proverbial 

Who 

Raised himself to universal esteem 

And oflBces of Eminent distinction 

By personal worth 

And a 

Useful life. 




GENERAL PUTNAM'S MONUMENT. 



I790] Last Years 415 

By his will, which was dated February 25, 1782, 
Putnam left about a thousand acres of land, in Pomfret, 
Brooklyn, and Canterbury, divided between his sons, 
Israel, Daniel, and Peter Schuyler, and twelve hundred 
pounds in money, divided equally among his four 
daughters; he bequeathed also to his grandson, Elisha 
Avery, one hundred and fifty pounds in money ; and 
also to his son, Peter Schuyler, all his live stock, farm- 
ing tools, and provisions. 

Putnam's short battle sword, with scabbard, was be- 
queathed by his grandson, IvCmuel Putnam Grosvenor, 
who inherited it, to the Connecticut Historical Society, 
It was formally delivered to the Society in 1859, on the 
one hundred and forty-first anniversary of the General's 
birth. Another sword which once belonged to Putnam 
is now owned by the Bunker Hill Monument Associa- 
tion, and is kept on exhibition in the Lodge at the foot 
of the monument in Charlestown, Massachusetts. 
Among the relics of Putnam which are owned to-day 
by individuals are his plough and saddle, in the posses- 
sion of A. E. Brooks, of Hartford, Connecticut, who 
believes them to be genuine. In addition to their as- 
sociations, they are of special interest as types of what 
was used in the old hero's days. 

There are two noteworthy statues to the memory of 
Putnam, both of them in Connecticut. One of them is 
in Bushnell Park, at Hartford, in front of the State 
Capitol, and was erected from a legacy left by Joseph 
Pratt Allyn of that city. This statue, which represents 
the General in the military costume of his day, was 
designed by J. Q. A. Ward, and was unveiled on June 
17, 1874, with appropriate exercises. The other statue 
of Putnam — an equestrian statue — is at Brooklyn, and 
was placed there by the State. By the wear of almost 



41 6 Israel Putnam [1779- 

a centurj', the old tomb became dilapidated, and the 
marble slab across the top was mutilated by relic hunt- 
ers. The condition of the monument was so wholly- 
unworthy of the illustrious dead, that the General As- 
sembly of Connecticut in 1886 appointed commissioners 
to erect a suitable monument by the State. The design 
of Karl Gerhardt was chosen, representing the General 
on his war-horse. The plot of ground on which this 
equestrian statue stands is situated near the Brooklyn 
public square, and is on the north-east corner of the 
historic Mortlake property. To the north is the old 
meeting-house where Putnam rang the bell and at- 
tended service ; to the north-east is the site of his inn ; 
and to the east is the field where the old hero left his 
plough and the quiet pursuits of husbandry for the 
cause of liberty and the field of battle. 

The dust of Putnam was removed from the cemetery, 
where he was originally buried, and placed in a sar- 
cophagus which was built into the foundation of the 
monument. The statue is of bronze. At each end of 
the stone pedestal there is an ornamented wolfs head 
in bronze. The tablets bear the original epitaph by 
President Dwight.* This monument was dedicated, 
June 14, 1888, with exercises of great interest. 

The facts of Israel Putnam's life plainly show that 



* The old slab which covered the original tomb of Putnam is 
now kept in the lower corridor of the Capitol at Hartford. 
Since its removal from Brooklyn the inscription upon it has 
called attention to a curious error which has been generally 
made in regard to the exact day of the month of his death. It 
is given as May 19, 1790, in the biographies of Putnam by 
Humphreys, Cutter, Peabody, Hill, and Tarbox, and also in 
The Century Cyclopaedia of Names, Appletott's and Johnson's 
Cyclopaedias, and other well-known books. The date on the 





iienior Majit)^eW|al L . 

Th?'^;^rte4ftatos cf Jin 

, j3?;;Was born at Salep 
In 'tine Frovrnce' of li^lfai 

^iid died'i 
a tlie't'^entynmilx tlay otMa> 

^i H^ou ^irt a Soldier ,1 

Ilj 1 tr lead 
, A/1 cfE any T \Tsi to |o^O^/ 
II 1 If aFdtniU 

!-^«riJercd ihy, rrantrv 
1^3, . lauicl \ hr k^p^.l i ^Im^l J '^i » 
If lin -; LVlo-^rlltesiernm "--wort *f- 
I Re Jlj tl iiJUl tribute oJ^ refpev 
^i la 1 Man, I 

^f]^nk peiiPToIity v/d*. fm^ular, 
^/A5iel nPlty wai proverbiii,-^ 

VI fed T n.T Hr totmsvprfal cS. ^^ 

« J ■'ti otl^ f Lf'H'Tiimcntdill.iu ^^ 

^ By 5)P(!t)r»al Avortli U 




P^- 



SLAB TAKEN FROM ISRAEL PUTNAM'S GRAVE IN BROOKLYN, CONN. 
NOW KEPT IN STATE HOUSE, HARTFORD, CONN. 



I790] Last Years 4^7 

the qualities of character which distinguished him and 
gave him an honoured place among the makers of 
American history were positiveness and friendliness 
and hopefulness. He was more than the bold ranger 
or the undaunted fighter. He was, as was said at his 
funeral, the true man. 

His positiveness was of that kind which creates en- 
thusiasm. It was inspiring to be in the presence of 
one who had never known fear whatsoever. The 
thrilling exploits, from the wolf-hunt at Pomfret to 
the ride down the rocky height at Horseneck, were 
not mere adventures prompted by the chance of circum- 
stances. They were evidences of a force of character 
which manifested itself in manifold ways. The 3'ears 
in the French and Indian War were characterised, not 
only by the bold deeds of the faithful ranger in con- 
stantly reconnoitring the enemy's camp, or in pursuing 
plunderers, or in guarding the army against sudden 
attack, but also by that eagerness for the rescue of 
others from danger, which impelled him, single-handed, 
at the risk of his life, to save a comrade from the fury 
of a savage, or to steer companions skilfully through 
dangerous rapids away from the foe, or to hasten with 
his little band of men to the protection of soldiers who 
were under an unexpected assault by the enemj^, and 



slab, however, is lettered "the tvt^enty-ninth day of May," and 
is the same as that mentioned in the pamphlet which contains 
the funeral sermon by Rev. Josiah Whitney. The error after- 
wards made is doubtless owing to the fact that Humphreys, 
whose book was published for the first time while Putnam was 
living, died before the new edition appeared in 1818, and the 
person, unknown to us to-day, who added the account of the 
General's death and burial, used numerals in copying the date 
from the old tomb and wrote by mistake 19th instead of 29th. 



41 8 Israel Putnam [1779- 

who had been abandoned to their fate. This was more 
than simple daring on Putnam's part. It was energy 
and efficiency as the result of self-forgetfulness. In 
the national struggle for independence the same quality 
of character found expression in him. When others 
faltered, he remained strong-hearted. When others 
would question or debate the expediency of an under- 
taking, he was eager for action. He would draw the 
British wolf out of the den, not delay nor dally! His 
instant response from the plough to the call to service, 
the ride to Boston, the marshalling of men, the advance 
to the gates of the enemy's stronghold for siege and 
conflict, and the memorable encounter at Bunker Hill, 
— who does not recognise in these events of Putnam's 
life a forceful purpose which made him the practical 
commander-in-chief of patriots ? Whatever may be 
thought, from a strictly military point of view, of his 
capacity for handling large bodies of troops, it is certain 
that he was of invaluable service, in the struggle for 
liberty, in arousing men to courage and patriotism by 
his own positive nature. 

Another quality of Putnam's character was his 
friendliness. Jealousy could find no place in his heart. 
The generosity of his whole nature cherished every 
friendship. Those with whom he had once shared, in 
the colonial wars, common privations and dangers on 
land and water, and b}^ fire and sword, were still his 
personal friends in the American Revolution, though 
they might be fighting on the side of the King. The 
affectionate attachment to former comrades, which 
found expression during the suspension of military 
formalities of hostile camps, meant no less love on his 
part for the cause in which he was serving. The tender 
incidents which we find also in the story of his life — his 





STATUE OF GENERAL ISRAEL PUTNAM, AT BROOKLYN, CONN, 



[I790 Last Years 4^9 

compassion for the sorrowing, his care for the suffer- 
ing, his chivalry to women, his kindness to children, 
his thoughtfulness for the weak — are evidences of the 
same generous nature. In the dear and close relation 
of the home life, he was the devoted husband and the 
affectionate father. 

Hopefulness was the third trait. Putnam knew by 
remarkable experience the vicissitudes of life, but hard- 
ships could not cast him down, nor disappointments 
embitter his nature. The unusual demands on the 
ranger — the long forest marches, the continual vigi- 
lance against lurking danger, the exhausting and often 
fruitless ventures — these, although they might make 
large draughts upon his strength, could not drain his 
exuberant spirits. When he became the victim of 
savages and suffered torture and beheld death face to 
face, the vitality of his nature would not admit defeat. 
And there were other demands on his abounding life. 
He knew what it was to have his motives misjudged, 
his cherished plans set aside, his limitations criticised 
and even derided, but resentment did not rankle in his 
soul. When he met with defeat, he rose above it, not 
because he was insensible to chagrin but because he 
had confidence in what he might still accomplish, and 
his sanguine nature pictured victory before him. Al- 
though increasing age might despoil his power of 
endurance, it could not quench his ardour, nor make 
him less a man. When infirmity summoned him to 
quiet life, keen as was his disappointment to leave the 
scenes of camp and battle, he was still the soldier — 
intrepid, hopeful, brave to the end. 

This indomitable hero, of generous soul and sterling 
patriotism, will always hold high place among Amer- 
ican men of energy. 



APPENDIX I 



PORTRAITS OF ISRAEL, PUTNAM 



The principal portraits of Putnam are these : 

1. A mezzotint engraving, folio size, issued by a London 
publisher in 1775, which represents the General in uniform, 
standing, and looking toward the right, his right elbow resting 
on the muzzle of a cannon, his left hand on his waist, and in the 
background a battery of cannon firing. This engraving has 
the full title : 

" Israel Putnam, Esq., Major General of the Connecticut 
Forces and Commander in Chief at the Engagement on 
Buncker's Hill, near Boston, 17th June, 1775. 

J. Wilkinson, Pinx. 

Ivondon, published as the Act directs, 9th September, 

i775i by C. Shepherd, London." 

This portrait has been reproduced in J. C. Smith's British 
Mezzotint Portraits, p. 1716. It has been copied in America, 
England, Germany, and France. 

2. A quaint picture of Putnam on a white horse in an Ameri- 
can engraving by B. Romanes, entitled, "An exact view of the 
late battle at Charlestown, June 17, 1775." It was published, 
in 1775, on a sheet twenty inches by twelve in size. It ap- 
peared, in a reduced form, in the Pennsylvania Magazine of 
Philadelphia, in 1775, and was reproduced in 1875 in Frothing- 
ham's Centennial edition of The Battle of Bunker Hill, and in 
the newspapers at the time of the Bunker Hill Centennial 
Celebration. 

3. An engraving in Murray's Impartial History of the War 
in America, published at Newcastle upon Tyue, England, in 
1780. This portrait of Putnam was "drawn from life," but is 

421 



422 Israel Putnam 

really an eflFort of the artist's imagination. This may be also 
said of another picture, a full-length figure, representing Put- 
nam, which was engraved by Roberts, L,ondon, for Bernard's 
History of England. 

4. A pencil sketch of Putnam from life, by Col. John Trumbull, 
which was inherited by the late Professor Benjamin Silliman, 
of Yale University, and which is now owned by the Putnam 
Phalanx, of Hartford, Conn. This is the most accurate like- 
ness of the General, and was used by Trumbull in representing 
Putnam in the well-known painting, "The Battle of Bunker 
Hill." In that picture Putnam is seen on the left in the rear, 
waving his sword. Trumbull's portrait of Putnam has been 
engraved by Hall, Gimbrede, Perine, Burt, and others ; notably 
by W. Humphreys for the National Portrait Gallery of Dis- 
tinguished Americans. A painting of Putnam by H. I. Thomp- 
son, after the pencil sketch by Trumbull, is in the State Capitol 
at Hartford, Conn. A painting by Alonzo Chappel, which rep- 
resents Putnam on horseback, was engraved for the National 
Portrait Gallery of Eminent Americans. 




APPENDIX II 

THE COMMAND IN THE BATTI,E OF BUNKER HII,I, 

The following bibliography relating to the command in the 
Battle of Bunker Hill, was prepared by the late Justin Winsor 
for the Narrative and Critical History of America, vol. vi., 
pp. 190-191 : 

"The question of who commanded during the day has been 
the subject of continued controversy, arising from the too 
large claims of partisans. . . The discussion of the claims of 
Putnam and Prescott has resulted in a large number of mono- 
graphs, and has formed a particular feature in many of the 
general accounts of the battle. . . 

" The earliest general narrative to give the command to 
Prescott was Gordon's, which followed closely the account of 
the Committee of Safety, and this was printed in 1788. The 
Lije of Putnam, by Humphreys, was published in 1788, while 
Putnam was still living, and makes no mention of his having 
the command ; but the Rev. Josiah Whitney, in 1790, in a note 
to a sermon preached upon the death of Putnam, took excep- 
tion to this oversight (Stevens's Hist. Coll., i., no. 685). In 1809, 
Eliot, in his Biographical Dictionary, represents Prescott as 
commanding at the redoubt and Stark at the rail fence. When 
General Wilkinson's 7>/^;wo/r5 were published, in 1816 (reviewed 
in the North Amer. Rev., Nov., 1817), the conduct of Putnam on 
that day was represented in no favourable light ; and General 
Henry Dearborn, who was with Stark at the rail fence, as- 
serted that Putnam remained inactive in the rear. It is also 
significant that Major Thompson Maxwell, who was with 
Reed's regiment at the rail fence, also asserted that Prescott 
commanded {Essex Inst. Hist. Coll., vol. vii.; N. E, Hist, 

423 



424 Israel Putnam 

and Geneal. Reg., Jan., 1868, p. 57). Dearborn's statement 
was made in a paper in the Portfolio (March, 1S18), which is 
reprinted in the Hist. Blag., August, 1864, and June, 1868 
(Dawson, p. 402). It was printed also separately at the time in 
Philadelphia and Boston (1818), as An Accoutit of the Battle 
of Bunker Hill with De Bcrniire^s map corrected by General 
Dearborn (16 pp.)- Colonel Daniel Putnam replied in the 
Portfolio (May, 1818), with numerous depositions (all reprinted 
by Dawson, p. 407), which was issued separately as A letter to 
Maj.-Gen. Dearborn, repelling his unprovoked attack on the 
character of the late Maj.-General Putnam, and containing 
some anecdotes relating to the Battle of Bunker Hill, not gen- 
erally knoivn (Philadelphia, 1818.) Both tracts were reprinted 
as an Account of the Battle of Bunker's Hill, by H. Dearborn, 
Major-General of the United States Army ; with a letter to 
Major-General Dearborn, repelling his unprovoked attack on 
the character of the late Maj.-Gen. Israel Putnam by Daniel 
Putnam, Esq. (Boston : Munroe & Francis, 1818). Each docu- 
ment is paged separately, and the last has a separate title. 
Dearborn replied in the Boston Patriot (June 13, 1818), with 
depositions, all of which are in Dawson, p. 414. See account 
of General Dearborn, by Daniel Goodwin, Jr., in the Chicago 
Hist. Soc. Proc. In July, 1818, Daniel Webster, in the North 
Anier. Rev., vindicated Putnam, but claimed for Prescott as 
much of a general command during the day as any one had, 
which claim he held to be established by Prescott's making his 
report to Ward at Cambridge when it was over. (Cf. Mass. 
Hist. Soc. Proc, June, 1858). John Lowell offered counter- 
depositions in the Cohimbian Centinel (July 4 and 15, 1818), 
again reprinted in Dawson, p. 423. In October, 1818, Col. 
Samuel Swett appended an Historical and Topographical 
Sketch of Bunker Hill Battle to a new edition of Humphreys's 
Life of Putnam. In the Boston Patriot, Nov. 17, 1818, D. 
L. Child claimed that Putnam was not in the battle, and he 
published separately An Enquiry into the Conduct of Gen. 
Putnam (Boston, 1819). In 1825, Swett enlarged his text and 
published it as a History of the Battle of Bunker Hi. I (Boston, 
1825), followed by Notes to his Sketch in Dec, 1825. His 
history passed to a second edition as a History of the Bunker 



Appendix 425 

Hill Battle, with a plan. By S. Szvett. Second Edition, 
much enlarged rvith new information derived from the 
surviving soldiers present at the celebration on the ijth fune 
last, and notes {^oslon, 1826). A third appeared in 1827. (Cf. 
Sparks in North Anier. Rev., vol. xxii.) A new advocate for 
Putnam appeared in Alden Bradford's Particular Account of 
the Battle of Bunker or Breed'' s Hill, by a Citizen of Boston 
(two editions, Boston, 1825, and since reprinted) ; while Daniel 
Putnam during the same \'ear recapitulated bis views in a com- 
munication to the Bunker Hill Monument Association {Conn. 
Hist. Sac. Coll., vol. i.). A summary of this Putnam-Dearborn 
controversy is given in G. W. Warren's History of the Bunker 
Hill Moniunent Association. 

" The dispute now remained dormant until 1831, when George 
E. Ellis delivered an oration at Cbarlestown, and then, and in 
his Sketches of Bunker Hill Battle, ivith illustrative documents 
(Cbarlestown, 1843), ^^ presented at fuller lenf^tb tban had been 
before done the claims of Prescott to be considered the com- 
mander. This led to a criticism and rejoinder by Swett and 
Ellis in the Boston Daily Advertiser. See Judge Prescott's 
letter to Dr. Ellis in Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc. (iv., 76), and another 
to Col. Swett (xiv., 78. Cf. Memoir of Swett and a list of his 
publications in the N . E. Hist, and Gcneal. Reg., 1867, p. 374). 
In 1843, John Fellows, in The Veil Removed ; or. Reflections on 
David Humphreys' s Essay on the Life of Israel Putnam ; also 
notices of Oliver W. B. Peabody's Life of the same ; S. Swell's 
Sketch of Bunker Hill, etc. (New York, 1843), ranged him- 
self among the detractors of Putnam. 

" In 1849, the question was again elaborately examined in 
Vroihmgh.am''s Siege 0/ Boston (p. 159, etc.), favouring Prescott, 
which produced Swett's Who was the Commander at Bunker 
Hill? (Boston, 1850), and Frothingham's rejoinder, The Com- 
mand in the Battle of Bunker Hill (Boston, 1850). Cf. also 
the Report to the Massachusetts Legislature on a monument to 
Col. Prescott (1852). In 1853, Irving favoured Prescott ( Wash- 
ington, vol. i.). In 1855, L. Grosvenor, in an address before 
the descendants of Putnam, reiterated that general's claims. 
In 1857, Barry {Hist, of Mass., vol. iii., 39), gave to Prescott 
the command in the redoubt, and to Putnam a general direction 



426 Israel Putnam 

outside the redoubt. In 1858, Bancroft in his History (vol. 
vii.) took the view substantially that Prescott commanded at 
the redoubt and sent out the party which in the beginning pro- 
tected his flank towards the Mystic, but when Stark, with his 
New Hampshire men, came up to strengthen that party, his 
authority was generally recognised and he held the rail fence 
there as long as he could to cover the retreat of Prescott's men 
from the redoubt ; that Putnam, the ranking oflficer on the 
field, Warren having disclaimed all right to command, with- 
drew men with intrenching tools from Prescott, and planned 
to throw up earthworks on the higher eminence, now known 
as Bunker Hill proper, and near the end of the retreat he as- 
sumed a general command, and directed the fortifying of Pros- 
pect Hill. In 1859, A. C. Griswold, as " Selah," of the 
Hartford Post, had a controversy with H. B. Dawson, who 
exceeded others in his denunciation of Putnam, and this cor- 
respondence was printed as Parts 6 and 11 of Dawson's Glean- 
ings from the Harvest-field of American //z'^/ory (Morrisania, 
1860-63), with the distinctive title Major-General Putnam. In 
i860, the Hon. H. C. Deming published an address on the oc- 
casion of the presentation of Putnam's sword to the Connecti- 
cut Historical Society. 

"The question of the command was again discussed at the 
season of the Centennial of 1875. The chief papers in favour of 
Putnam were by I. N. Tarbox in the New York Herald (June 12 
and 14), in the New Englander (April, 1876), and in his Life 
of Putnam ; by S. A. Drake in his General Israel Putnam, the 
Commander at Bunker Hill ; by W. W. Wheildon in his let- 
ters to the New York Herald (June 16 and 17), and in his New 
History of the Battle of Bicnker Hill. General Charles Devens's 
oration in The Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of 
the Battle of Bunker Hill (Boston, 1875), did not extend Pres- 
cott's command beyond the redoubt as was done, however, in 
Francis J. Parker's Colonel Wm. Prescott, the Covmiandcr in 
the Battle of Bunker's Hill (Boston, 1875), and his paper^ 
"Could General Putnam Command at Bunker's Hill?" in 
N. E. Hist, and Geneal. Peg. (Oct., 1877, p. 403). Dur- 
ing the same year, Dr. George E. ElHs recast the material of 
his earlier book, in his History of the Battle of Bunker's 



Appendix 



427 



[Breed's'] Hill (Boston, 1875, in i6mo. and 8vo., the latter re- 
vised). The Centennial period prodnced also varions nia.a;azine 
articles, the most important of which are one by H. E. i^cudder 
in the Atlantic Monthly, July, 1875 ; one by Launce Poyutz, in 
the Galaxy, July. i875 ; oue by Dr. Samuel Osgood in Harper's 
Monthly, July, 1875 ; and those which later constituted a 
brochure, One Hundred Years Ago, by Edward E. Hale." 





INDEX 



Abercrombie, Gen. James, 56, 

74-77, 80-83, 86, 87, 97, 98, 

103, 104 
Abercrombie, Lieu t. -Col. 

James, Jr., 236 
Adams, John, 158 
Adams, Samuel, 150, 177, 192 
Albemarle, Earl of, 118, 120- 

123 
Allyn, Joseph Pratt, 415 
Amherst, Maj.-Gen. JeflFrey, 

74, 102-105, 107-115 
Andrews, John, 184 
Arnold, Benedict, 266, 2S0, 

344, 403 
Atlee, Colonel, 298 
Auchmuty, Rev. Samuel, 164 
Avery, Elisha, 415 
Avery, Rev. Ephraim, 155 
Avery, Rev. Ephraim, Jr., 155 



B 



Babcock, Col. Henry, 264 
Bancroft, Capt. Ebenezer, 222 
Bancroft, George, 179, 303 
Barlow, Joel, 384 
Barren, William, 184 
Bartlett, Rev. Mr., 386 
Belcher, Gov. Jonathan, 10, 

II 
Belknap, Rev. Jeremy, 259, 

260 



Bell, General, 323 
Bell, Joseph, 208 
Borland, John, 197 
Bosworth, Mrs. Mary Putnam, 

328 
Bouquet, Col. Henry, 131, 143 
Bourlamaque, Chevalier de, 

104 
Braddock, Gen. Edward, 17 
Bradstreet, Lieut. -Col. John, 

80, 82, 97, 131-139, 142-146 
Brevoort, Carson, 301 
Brewer, James, 207 
Bridge, Col. Ebenezer, 215, 

229 
Brooks, A. E., 415 
Brooks, Maj. John, 207, 221 
Bruce, Major, 255 
Burbeck, Henry, 220 
Burgoyne, Gen. John, 212, 307, 

346, 348, 349, 351, 352, 354, 

356, 358-360, 362 
Burke, Edmund, 261 
Burnham, Oliver, 314 
Burr, Aaron, 280, 286, 295, 309, 

310, 353 
Bush, John, 52 
Bushnell, David, 283, 284 



Cadwalader, Brig.-Gen. John, 

333, 334 
Caesar Augustus, 208 
Callender, Capt. John, 224, 

228, 229 



429 



430 



Index 



Campbell, Alexander, 207 
Campbell, David, 55 
Carpenter, Captain, 298 
Carrington, Geu. Henry B., 

244, 302 
Chester, Capt. John, 207, 268, 

318 
Chester, Governor, 167, 168, 

171 
Church, Dr. Benjamin, 258, 

259 
Clark, Lieutenant, 219 
Clark, Rev. Peter, i 
Clarke, Captain, 187 
Cleveland, Capt. Aaron, 182, 

186-190 
Cleveland, Josiah, 217 
Clinton, Gov. George, 289, 

316, 317, 352, 356, 358, 363- 

365, 369-371 
Clinton, Sir Henry, 212, 235, 

285, 299, 347, 350, 354, 360, 

367. 378, 395, 399 
Clinton, Gen. James, 307, 356, 

370 
Cornwallis, Lord, 285, 299, 

301, 327, 336 
Crary, lyieutenant - Colonel, 

314 
Cregier, Capt. Thomas, 277 
"Cudge," 7 
Cutter, William, 38, 157, 250, 

264, 270, 416 

D 

Dalzell, Captain, 78, 87-89 
Dana, Capt. James, 252 
Dana, John Winchester, 156 
Dana, Judge Judah, 29 
Davies, Rev. Thomas F., 387 
Dawson, Henry B., 303 
Deane, Silas, 183, 185, 248, 

249. 253, 332 
De Heister, General, 300 
De Kalb, Baron, 381 
De Lancey, Col. James, 366 
De Lancey, Gen. Oliver, 366 
"Dick," 127, 408 



Dickinson, General, 361, 366 
Dickson, William, 237 
Dieskau, Baron, 22-25, 47> 75 
Doolittle, Colonel, 199 
Drake, Major, 140 
Drake, Samuel Adams, 254 
Dresser, Jonathan, 154, 155 
Dunbar, Major, 207 
Durkee, Capt. John, 182 
Durkee, Robert, 36-39, 59 
Dwight, Rev. Timothy, 414, 

416 
Dyer, Maj. Ebenezer, 42, 43 
Dyer, Col. John, 42 



E 



Enos, Capt. Roger, 163, 166 
Eustis, Surgeon William, 280 



Fellows, Brig. -Gen. John, 306, 

307 
Fellows, John, author of The 

Veil Refuoved, 38 
Field, Thomas W., 303 
Fiske, John, 109, 302 
Fitch, Governor, 20, 153 
Fletcher, Captain, 36-38 
Forbes, Brig.-Gen. John, 74 
Forbes, Lieutenant, I2i 
Ford, Capt. John, 229 
Ford, Worthington Chauncey, 

253 
Fort Putnam, Long Island, 

295 
Fort Putnam, West Point, 373, 

374 
Foster, Captain, 208, 250 
Franklin, Benjamin, 259, 343 
Frink, Lucy, 409 
Frost, Samuel, 208 
Frye, Col. James, 215 
Fuller, Jonathan, 56 



Gaffield, Benjamin, 99 



Index 



431 



Gage, Gen. Thomas, 108, 130, 
131, 143, 178, 181, 185, 191, 
200, 201, 205, 206, 208, 212, 
255 
Gaiue, Mr., 186, 188 
Gardiner, Colonel, 235 
Gardiner, Hannah, 155, 156 
Gardiner, John, 155 
Gardiner, Septimus, 155, 156, 

357 
Gates, Gen. Horatio, 253, 257, 
282, 290, 291, 333, 356, 358- 
360, 362, 363, 369, 378, 380, 

381 
Gates, Mrs. Horatio, 257 
George IH., King, 117, 150, 

154, 173 
Gerhardt, Karl, 416 
Gibbs, Capt. Caleb, 279 
Giddings, Captain, 89 
Gladwyn, Major, 130, 131, 136 
Glover, General, 346, 365 
Goodrich, Captain, 164, 167, 

168 
Gordon, William, 158, 192 
Graham, Rev. John, 123-126 
Grant, Gen. James, 298, 299 
Grant, Noah, 36, 39, 43 
Gray, Samuel, 217, 218 
Greene, Gen. Nathanael, 247, 

253. 277, 289, 294, 313-316, 

319. 323-327. 345, 383. 384, 

403 
Gridley, Col. Richard, 215, 

217, 218, 268 
Gridley, Capt. Samuel, 215, 

223, 225, 228 
Griffin, Colonel, 3^3 
Griffith, Colonel, 315 
Grosvenor, Rev. L,., 408, 409 
Grosvenor, Lemuel Putnam, 

415 
Grout, Hilkiah, 99 

H 

Haldimand, Col. Frederick, 

107, 167 
Hallowell, Benjamin, 190 



Hamilton, Alexander, 321, 

361-365, 368, 369 
Hamilton, Lieutenant, 207 
Hancock, John, 192, 275, 280 
Hand, Colonel, 323 
Hardy, Sir Charles, 33 
Harrison, Benjamin, 259 
Harvey, Private, 245 
Haskell, Caleb, 199 
Hathorne, Elizabeth, 3 
Hathorne, William, 3, 4 
Haviland, William, Brig. -Gen., 

71, 72, 107, 113 
Hawke, Samuel, 274 
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 4 
Hayward, Ensign, 55 
Heath, Maj.-Gen. William, 

222, 247, 261, 263, 277, 289, 

293. 307. 320, 323, 341, 345, 

396, 406 
Hendrick, Chief, 19, 22, 23 
Henry, Patrick, 150 
Henshaw, Col. William, 195 
Herkimer, General, 352 
Hewes, James, 207 
Hickey, Thomas, 2S1 
Hill, Captain, 189 
Hilton, John, 207 
Hoar, George F., 373 
Hobby, Capt. John, 390 
Holden, John, 233 
Holdridge, Colonel, 393 
Holland, Joseph, 175, 177 
Holmes, Abiel, 92 
Holmes, Capt. David, 87, 96 
Holyoke, Ann, 2 
Hosmer, Capt. Titus, 183, 388, 

389 
Howe, Caleb, 99 
Howe, Mrs. Jemima, 99, 100 
Howe, Lord, 71, 75-79- 233. 239 
Howe, Admiral Richard, 281, 

284, 290 
Howe, Gen. William, 212, 233, 
235, 269-271, 273, 281, 288, 
290. 299. 302, 303, 305, 307, 
310, 322, 324, 337, 344, 346, 
348, 349, 352, 353. 360, 361, 
364, 378 



432 



Index 



Hoyt, Col. H. W. R., 393 
Humphreys, Col. David, 6, 15, 
35, 38, 56, 57. 60-63, 66, 71, 
78-80, 87, 89, 90, 92-100,111, 
112, 114, 119, 153, 155, 178, 
179, 200, 283, 310, 311, 340, 

383. 39S-403. 410, 411, 417 

Hunt, Captain, 30, 31 

Huntington, Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, 374, 375 

Huntington, Col. Jedediah, 

195 
Hutchinson, Catharine, 409 



logersoll, Jared, 152 
Inman, Ralph, 213, 254 
Inman, Mrs. Ralph, 213, 216, 

239, 244 
Irving, Washington, 147, 241, 

242 

J 

James, Thomas, 169-171 
Johnson, Philip, 227 
Johnson, Gen. William, 20-26, 

29, 33> 36, 37. 68, 106, 132 
Johnston, Prof. Henry P., 303, 

304,. 313 
Jones, Edward, 385, 386 
Jones, Samuel, 232 

K 

Kemp, Reuben, 227, 230 
Keys, Captain, 186, 187 
King, Capt. Thomas, 141, 142 
Knapp, Israel, 390 
Knowlton, Col. Thomas, 211, 
212, 215, 223, 227, 237, 265, 

266, 312-315, 317 

Knox, Maj.-Gen. Henry, 

267, 268, 289, 309, 325, 345 
Kosciusko, 328, 373 



La Corne, 86, 87 



Lafayette, Marquis de, 392 
Laidie, Rev. Dr. Archibald, 

165 
Lally, Frederick, 350 
Langdon, Pres. Samuel, 217, 

246 
Langy, 76, 77 

Larned, Ellen D., 155, 156, 252 
Learned, Captain, 61, 62 
Learned, Col. Ebenezer, 272 
Ledlie, Hugh, 153 
Lee, Maj.-Gen. Charles, 247, 
249, 253, 260, 261, 274, 275, 
319. 320, 323, 327. 333, 362, 
378, 379 
Leitch, Major, 314, 315, 317 
Leonard, Rev. Mr., 251 
Levis, Due de, 50, 81 
Lincoln, Gen. Benjamin, 395 
Little, Captain, 62 
Livingston, Rev. Dr. John, 165 
Livingston, Philip, 306 
Livingston, Chancellor Rob- 
ert R., 372, 374 
Livingston, Gov. William, 285, 

286^ 331 
Loring, Captain, 108, no 
Lossing, B. J., 57, in, 393 
Loudoun, Lord, 50, 51, 54, 65, 

71 
Lovell, James, 286 
Lyman, Maj.-Gen. Phineas, 

20, 25, 44, 45, 55, 56, 60, 63, 

116, 118, 125, 162 
Lyman, Thaddeus, 163, 169, 

170 
Lynch, Thomas, 259 

M 

McDougall, Gen. Alexander, 
306, 321, 345, 346, 348, 349, 
353. 373-375, 378, 383, 397 
McPherson, Captain, 340, 341 
Maddison, Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel, 181 
Magaw, Col. Robert, 324 
Malbone, Col. Godfrey, 148, 
149, 159, 160, 184, 409 



Index 



Mandeville, John, 345 
Manly, Captain, 262 
Mante, Thomas, no, 137 
Marcy, Samuel, 207 
Marin, 59, 62, 88, 91, 94, 97 
Marshall, John, 302 
Matthews, Daniel, 56 
Maxwell, Thompson, 220 
Maynard, Captain, 89 
Mead, Gen. Ebenezer, 389 
Megiuiss, Captain, 61 
Mercer, Gen. Hugh, 325, 326, 

338 
Mifflin, Gen. Thomas, 262, 

289, 290, 306, 323, 328, 329, 

331, 332 
Miles, Colonel, 299 
Moncrieife, Maj. James, 207, 

208, 255, 285, 286 
Moncrieffe, Margaret, 285-289 
Monro, Colonel, 66-69 
Montague, Captain, 350 
Montcalm, Marquis de, 47, 50, 

51, 53, 62, 65, 68-70, 80, 81, 

86, 96, 106 
Montgomery, Gen. Richard, 

247, 266 
Montour, Captain, 141 
Montresor, Col. James, 57, 60, 

6r, 67-69, 132 
Montresor, Lieut. John, 131- 

139, 144-146, 201 
Morris, Gouverneur, 378 
Morris, Robert, 332 
Morris, Capt. Thomas, 141 
Moylan, Col. Stephen, 262, 

265 
Muhlenberg, Brig. -Gen. Peter, 

379. 380. 382 
Munsell, Hezekiah, 309 
Murray, Gen. James, 107, 113 
Murray, Lindley, 311 
Murray, Robert, 311 
Murray, Mrs. Robert, 311 

N 

Neilson, Colonel, 342 
Newell, Chaplain, 21 
28 



Niles, Rev. Samuel, 63, 64 
Nixon, Gen. John, 289, 295, 

314, 397 
Nixon, Lieut. -Col. Thomas, 

289 
North, Lord, 173 

O 

Oliver, Lieutenant-Governor, 

182 
Olmstead, James, 386 
Otis, James, 150 



Paine, Seth, 158 
Palmer, Colonel, 210 
Palmer, Edmund, 350, 351 
Parkmau, Francis, 28, 80, 82, 

83, 89, 90 
Parks, Lieutenant, 125 
Parris, Rev. Samuel, 2 
Parry, Thomas, 207 
Parsons, Lieutenant, 59 
Parsons, Brig. -Gen. Samuel 

Holden, 297, 299, 306, 307, 

346, 356, 357, 359- 367, 370, 

372; 373, 383, 397 
Partridge, Colonel, 89 
Paterson, Brig. -Gen. John, 

360, 365 
Patterson, Lieutenant-Colonel, 

286 
Payson, Lieut. -Col. Nathan, 

116 
Pearce, Joseph, 222 
Peck, John, 207 
Percy, Lord, 178, 270, 299 
Perley, Capt. Thomas, 5 
Peters, Captain, 141, 143 
Peters, Rev. Samuel, 15 
Pigot, General, 235 
Pitcairn, Major, 192 
Pocock, Admiral Sir George, 

118 
Pomeroy, Seth, 23-25, 226, 

247 
Pontiac, 129, 130, 136, 139, 141, 

142, 146 



434 



Index 



Pope, Joseph, 8 

Pope, Joseph, Jr., 9-1 1 

Pope, Mrs. Mehitable, 8 

Porter, Israel, i, 3 

Porter, John, 3 

Porter, Lieut. Samuel, 54, 55 

Potter, Lieutenant, 207 

Pouchot, Captain, no 

Prescott, Col. William, 200, 
208, 210, 214, 215, 217, 220, 
222, 226, 231, 236, 237, 240, 
241, 289 

Preston, Daniel, 208 

Price, Ezekiel, 204 

Putnam, Rev. A. P., D.D., 
240 

Putnam, Anne, 4 

Putnam, Daniel, second son of 
Israel Putnam, 18, 19, 94, 
loi, 106 

Putnam, Daniel, third son of 
Israel Putnam, 18, 106, 156, 
160, 163, 171, 191-193. 197- 
199, 204, 208-211, 213, 214, 
216, 225, 226, 234, 239, 244, 

256, 257, 334, 383, 398, 399, 
401, 409, 415 

Putnam, David, 4, 5, 7, 9, 16 
Putnam, Mrs. Deborah Loth- 
rop (Gardiner), 155, 156, 158, 

257, 258, 286, 287, 307, 357- 

359. 369 
Putnam, Deacon Edward, 3, 

55, 56 
Putnam, Elisha, 55 
Putnam, Elizabeth, sister of 

Israel Putnam, 4 
Putnam, Elizabeth, daughter 

of Israel Putnam, 19, 147 
Putnam, Mrs. Elizabeth (Por- 
ter), 1-5 
Putnam, Eunice, sister of 

Israel Putnam, 4 
Putnam, Eunice, daughter of 

Israel Putnam, 42, 156, 401 
Putnam, Gideon, 15 
Putnam, Hannah, 19, 156 
Putnam, Mrs. Hannah (Pope), 

8,18, 19,42, 100, loi, 147, 155 



Putnam, Huldah, 4 

Putnam, Israel : birth, i; bap- 
tism, ] ; ancestors, 2-4 ; 
father, 2, 3 ; mother, 3-5 ; 
brothers and sisters, 4, 5 ; 
early adventures, 5-7 ; a 
youthful farmer, 7 ; mar- 
riage, 8 ; his first child, 8 ; 
purchases a Connecticut 
farm, 9, 10 ; removes from 
Salem Village, 10 ; his in- 
dustry and success, 1 1 ; wolf- 
hunt, 11-15 ; visits Salem 
Village, 16 ; prosperous 
years, 16, 18; his family, 18, 
19 ; enlists in French and 
Indian War, 18 ; in Crown 
Point expedition, 19-21 ; in 
battle of Lake George, 22-25; 
receives commission as sec- 
ond lieutenant, 20, 26 ; be- 
comes a ranger, 26-29; qual- 
ifications, 29, 30 ; scouting 
expedition to Ticonderoga, 
30-33; official report, 31, 32; 
expedition to Crown Point, 
33-36 ; saves Rogers's life, 
35; perilous experiences, 
36-40 ; reconnoitres near 
South Bay, 40 ; on winter 
duty, 41; attempts to relieve 
Dyer, 42-43 ; returns home, 
43; rewarded by the General 
Assembly, 43 ; appointed 
captain, 44; at Fort Edward, 
45 ; kills an Indian, 45, 46 ; 
takes a prisoner, 46, 47; pur- 
sues French plunderers, 48 ; 
encounters the enemy, 48- 
50 ; reconnoitres Ticonder- 
oga, 51 ; patrols woods, 52 ; 
his powder-horn, 52; at Fort 
Edward in 1757, 54-56; in 
moonlight battle, 56-60; re- 
pels attack on workmen, 61- 
64; escorts General Webb to 
Fort William Henry, 65 ; 
discovers hostile force on 
Lake George, 66 ; ordered 



Index 



435 



Putnam Israel — Confitiued. 
back to Fort Edward, 66 ; 
hears distant bombardment, 
67-69 ; visits scene of mas- 
sacre, 70, 71; again on rang- 
ing duty, 71 ; becomes ac- 
quainted with Lord Howe, 
71; saves Fort Edward from 
fire, 71, 72 ; reconnoitres 
northward, 73 ; returns to 
Connecticut, 73 ; appointed 
major, 74; in expedition 
against Ticonderoga, 75-77 ; 
in a skirmish, 77, 78; mourns 
death of Lord Howe, 79 ; 
shows kindness to wouuded 
enemy, 79, 80 ; renders effi- 
cient aid during assault on 
French works, 81-83; covers 
the retreat, 83; returns with 
main army to head of Lake 
George, 84 ; escapes down 
rapids of the Hudson, 85, 
86; in Rogers's party against 
French plunderers, 86, 87 ; 
surprised by an ambuscade, 
88; made prisoner, 89 ; tied 
to a tree, 90 ; his perilous 
position, 90, 91 ; cruelly 
treated, 92; led into a forest 
to be burned alive, 93 ; res- 
cued, 94 ; his paiuful night, 
95 ; taken to Ticonderoga, 
95, 96; in presence of Mont- 
calm, 96 ; sent to Montreal, 
96; receives sympathetic at- 
tention from Schuyler, 96, 
97 ; transferred to Quebec, 
97; exchanged, 97-99; cares 
for Howe family on journey 
homeward, 99, 100; his glad 
reunion, loi ; appointed 
lieutenant-colonel, 102 ; su- 
perintends work of Con- 
necticut regiment near Lake 
George, 103 ; in another ex- 
pedition against Ticonder- 
oga and Crown Point, 103- 
105 ; assists in repairing and 



rebuilding the captured 
forts, 105; returns home, 106; 
with Amherst's army against 
Montreal, 107 ; ingeniously 
disables a French war-ship, 
108, 109 ; his novel project 
for the capture of Fort Levis, 
110-112 ; on the dangerous 
passage down the rapids of 
the St. Lawrence, 112, 113 ; 
rejoices over the surrender 
of Montreal, 114; cordially 
greeted by his former cap- 
tor, 114; again at home, 115; 
in last campaign of French 
and Indian War, 115 ; on 
duty at Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, 116; acting 
colonel of Connecticut regi- 
ment in expedition against 
Havana, 118; presence of 
mind in storm at sea, 119 ; 
arrives at Havana, 120; par- 
ticipates in attack on Morro 
Castle, 121 ; a sharer in the 
prize money, 122; his orderly 
book, 123 ; interviewed by 
Chaplain Graham, 124; goes 
into country to buy fresh 
provisions, 125; embarks for 
home, 126; takes "Dick," 
126, 127; works on his farm, 
127 ; in Bradstreet's expedi- 
tion in Pontiac's War, 129- 
131; meets again the Indian 
chief, 132 ; reaches Fort Ni- 
agara, 132, 133 ; employed 
in building Fort Erie, 133 ; 
protests against treaty with 
Indian deputies, 134; arrives 
at Fort Detroit, 135, 136 ; in 
charge of workmen on Isle 
au Cochon, 136, 137 ; em- 
barks with Bradstreet's 
troops for Sandusky, 138 ; 
field officer for the picket, 
139 ; writes to Major Drake, 
140-143; hardships on Lakes 
Erie and Ontario, 144-146 ; 



436 



Index 



Putnam Israel — Continued. 
reaches home, 146; bereaved 
of daughter and wife, 147 ; 
joins the Congregational 
Church, 148 ; his neighbour 
Malbone, 148, 149 ; sym- 
pathises with colonial resist- 
ance of the Stamp Act, 149, 
150 ; a leader of Sons of 
Liberty, 151 ; his accident, 
151 ; interviews Governor 
Fitch at Hartford, 153; chair- 
man of Committee of Cor- 
respondence, 153 ; represen- 
tative to General Assembly, 
154 ; his two mishaps, 154, 
155 ; second marriage, 155 ; 
opens a tavern, 156-158 ; 
prominent in town and ec- 
clesiastical affairs, 158, 159; 
a bell-ringer, 160, 161 ; a 
member of the Exploring 
Committee of Military Ad- 
venturers, 162, 163 ; leaves 
home, 163; his diary at New 
York and on the voyage to 
Pensacola, 164-167; explores 
the Mississippi as far north 
as the Yazoo, 1 68-1 71 ; his 
voyage homeward, 171, 172; 
sympathises with Massachu- 
setts patriots, 173-177; goes 
to Boston with letter and 
flock of sheep, 177; heartily 
welcomed, 177, 178; inter- 
views British ofiBcers, 178, 
179; again at home, 180; 
aroused by report of a Brit- 
ish incursion, 181, 182 ; 
alarms the country, 182-184; 
his facetious note to Mal- 
bone, 184; learns that report 
is exaggerated, 184 ; criti- 
cised for premature energy, 
185, 186 ; replies in an open 
letter, 186-190 ; prepares for 
the impending war, 191; re- 
ceives news of the battle of 
Lexington, 192, 193 ; con- 



sults with Governor Trum- 
bull, 193 ; rides to Cam- 
bridge, 194; writes from 
Concord, 194; at a council of 
war, 195 ; summoned back 
to Connecticut for his ad- 
vice, 195 ; a brigadier-gen- 
eral, 196 ; returns to Cam- 
bridge, 197; hisheadquarters, 
197; his popularity, 198; his 
confidence in the provin- 
cials, 198, 199 ; an aggres- 
sive officer, 199, 200; spurns 
an offer from General Gage, 
200 ; leads a bold march into 
Charlestown, 201 ; in a skir- 
mish on Noddle's Island, 
202-205 • appointed major- 
general by the Continental 
Congress, 205 ; extolled in 
newspapers and in Trum- 
bull's M'Fingal, 205, 206; 
represents military author- 
ity in an exchange of 
prisoners, 206-208 ; leads 
another bold march, 209 ; 
his personal eccentricities, 
209 ; favours a redoubt on 
Bunker Hill, 210-212; sends 
his son Daniel to Inman 
homestead, 213, 216; accom- 
panies detachment to the 
Charlestown Heights, 214- 
217; his part in the battle of 
BunkerHill in securing rein- 
forcements, in urging men 
to the front, and in keeping 
them steady during the at- 
tacks by the British, 218- 
235 ; tries to intrench the 
second eminence, 221, 222, 
235 ; his interview with 
Warren, 225, 226; sees Pom- 
eroy, 226 ; saves Major 
Small's life, 233, 234 ; re- 
membered by the dying 
Abercrombie, 236 ; tries to 
force back the retreating 
provincials, 238 ; makes a 



Index 



437 



Putnam Israel — Continued. 
bold stand alone, 238; brings 
the men to a halt on Winter 
and Prospect Hills, 238, 239; 
learns of Warren's death, 
239 ; his services as chief 
commander in battle of 
Bunker Hill, 240, 241 ; de- 
scribed by Irving, 241, 242; 
fortifies Prospect Hill, 243- 
245 ; rebukes dilatory pri- 
vate, 245 ; wins regards of 
Washington, 246, 247; has 
trouble with Spencer, 247- 
249; receives commission as 
major-general, 248 ; praised 
by Deane and Webb, 248, 
249; anecdotes, 250, 251; 
present at flag-raising, 251, 
252 ; in command of centre 
division of army, 253; head- 
quarters at Inman house, 
254 ; has an interview with 
Small, 254 ; sends present 
of provisions to British offi- 
cers, 255; his toast at dinner, 
256, 257 ; resents treatment 
received by Mrs. Putnam, 
257; arrests woman implica- 
ted in treasonable plans of 
Dr. Church, 258, 259; meets 
well-known patriots, 259 ; 
characterised by Belknap, 
259, 260; mentioned by 
Burke, 261 ; breaks ground 
on Cobble Hill for "Put- 
nam's impregnable fort- 
ress," 261, 262; christens a 
captured mortar, 262 ; forti- 
fies Ivcch mere's Point, 263 ; 
warns his son against can- 
non-balls, 264 ; quells a 
mutiny, 264; ingeniously ob- 
tains extra cannon-balls, 265 ; 
anxious for more powder, 
265 ; watches his men de- 
stroy houses in Charlestown, 
266; characterised by Wash- 
ington, 267 ; reconnoitres 



Dorchester Heights, 268; 
gives kindly assistance to 
lame engineer, 268; fired at 
by Cambridge sentinel, 268; 
impatient for actfon against 
the British, 270 ; commands 
detachment for proposed 
attack on Boston, 270; enters 
Boston after the evacuation, 
272 ; ou guard against the 
return of the enemy, 273 ; 
in chief command at New 
York City, 274 ; his aggres- 
sive measures, 274 ; estab- 
lishes martial law, 274, 275 ; 
fortifies Governor's Island, 
275, 276 ; in general charge 
of the works after arrival of 
Washington, 277 ; again in 
chief command at New 
York, 278 ; reports to the 
absent Washington, 278; has 
difficulty in quelling a riot, 
279; present at an entertain- 
ment, 279 ; his new aide-de- 
camp. Burr, 280; plotted 
against by Tory conspira- 
tors, 281 ; an enthusiastic 
supporter of the Declaration 
of Independence, 281; plans 
fire-crafts and chevaux-de- 
frise, 282 ; interested in the 
"American Turtle," 283, 
284 ; kindness to Margaret 
Moncrieffe, 285-289 ; re- 
tained within New York in 
command of a division ofthe 
main army, 289 ; receives a 
letter from Gates, 290, 291 ; 
reports departure of British 
ships from Stateu Island, 
292, 293 ; in chief command 
of army ou Long Island, 294; 
welcomed at Brooklyn 
Heights, 295 ; examines the 
defences, 295 ; instructed by 
Washington, 296; recon- 
noitres enemy's position, 
296 ; aroused at night by 



43^ 



Index 



Putnam Israel — Continued. 
news of a hostile approach, 
297 ; sends out troops under 
Stirling, 297, 298 ; alarmed 
by flank movement of the 
enemy, 299; commands 
within the fortified lines 
duringbattle of Long Island, 
300,301; anecdote, 301, 302; 
not responsible for the de- 
feat, 302-304 ; favours re- 
treat, 306; assists in with- 
drawing army from Long 
Island, 306, 307; commands 
a division of army for pro- 
tection of New York, 307 ; 
superintends removal of 
stores and troops, 308; hears 
British cannon at Kip's Bay, 
308 ; tries to rally panic- 
stricken Americans, 309; re- 
turns to the city to extricate 
his men, 309 ; his fortunate 
escape with his men to Har- 
lem Heights, 310, 31 1 ; in the 
battle of Harlem Heights, 
314-317 ; leads a bold enter- 
prise, 318 ; on the march 
towards White Plains, 319; 
in the battle of White Plains, 
320-322; crosses to New Jer- 
sey with a detachment, 323; 
at the fall of Fort Washing- 
ton, 324-326; with Wash- 
ington on the retreat across 
New Jersey, 326-328 ; in 
chief command at Philadel- 
phia, 328 ; describes condi- 
tion of affairs in the city, 
329; establishes martial law, 

329, 330 ; dislikes Quakers, 

330, 331 ; advises Congress 
to remove from Philadel- 
phia, 331, 332; unable to as- 
sist Washington in Trenton 
undertaking, 332-334; learns 
of Trenton victory, 335 ; in 
charge of the captured Hes- 
sians, 335; treats the prison- 



ers hospitably, 336 ; ordered 
to advance from Philadel- 
phia, 337 ; receives a letter 
from Washington, describ- 
ing victory at Princeton, 
337, 338; delays in marching 
to Princeton, 338; kindness 
to Captain McPberson, 340, 
341 ; sends out scouting par- 
ties, 341 ; letter to Pennsyl- 
vania Council of Safety, 342; 
deals summarily with des- 
perado Stockton, 342, 343 ; 
reports hostile movements 
for capture of Philadelphia, 
343 ; appointed to the com- 
mand of the Hudson High- 
lands, 344, 345 ; arranges for 
a boom across Hudson 
River, 345 ; headquarters at 
Peekskill, 345 ; prevented 
from carrying out plan to 
surprise the enemy's force 
at Kingsbridge, 346 ; sends 
reinforcements to Washing- 
ton, 346 ; learns of the loss 
of Ticonderoga and prob- 
able approach of the British 
up the Hudson, 346-348 ; 
misled by an intercepted 
letter after the depart- 
ure of the British from 
New York, 34S ; loath 
to forward more troops 
to Gen. Washington, 348; 
punishes deserters and spies, 
349, 350 ; orders the execu- 
tion of Edmund Palmer, 350, 
351 ; allows some of the 
troops to return home, 352 ; 
appeals for recruits, 352, 353; 
surprised by advance of the 
enemy up the Hudson, 354 ; 
his letter describing the loss 
of Fort Montgomery, 355- 
357 ; distressed by death of 
his step-son, 357; solicitous 
for his ill wife, 357, 358; pur- 
sues the British, 358 ; his 



Index 



439 



Putnam Israel — Continued. 
plan for a march to New 
York discountenanced, 358, 
359; afflicted by death of his 
wife, 359 ; reports to Wash- 
ington the news of Bur- 
goyne's surrender, 360 ; at 
Fishkill, 360; his project for 
diversion of British, 361 ; 
ordered by Hamilton to for- 
ward troops to Washington, 
362; neglects to comply with 
Hamilton's directions, 362, 
363; censured by Hamilton 
in a peremptory order, 363- 
365 ; forwards the troops, 
366; plans various enter- 
prises in region of New 
York and Long Island, 
366, 367 ; cHticised by in- 
habitants of New York, 
368; selects West Point as 
site for new fort, 370 ; 
reports to Washington the 
progress of affairs in the 
Highlands and the pitiable 
condition of the troops, 371, 
372 ; visits Connecticut, 372; 
his unpopularity the subject 
of correspondence between 
Chancellor Livingston and 
Washington, 372, 373 ; su- 
perseded by McDougall, 373; 
exonerated by Court of In- 
quiry from all blame in the 
Hudson disaster, 374, 375 ; 
superintends the forwarding 
of recruits from Connecti- 
cut, 377; desirous of service 
in the main army, 378, 379 ; 
in command of troops for- 
merly under Lee, 379 ; at 
White Plains, 379 ; near 
West Point, 380, 381 ; de- 
scribed by Surgeon Thacher, 
380 ; his letter to Washing- 
ton concerning a hostile 
incursion, 381, 3S2 ; at a din- 
ner, 382 ; in command of 



eastern division of army for 
winter of 1777-78, 383 ; 
headquarters at Redding, 
Conn., 383 ; referred to in 
poems by Humphreys and 
Barlow, 383, 384 ; tactful 
speech to mutinous men, 
385 ; deals summarily with 
spies, 385, 386 ; anecdotes, 
387, 388 ; at Horseneck, 
388; his report of an 'en- 
counter with Tryon's force, 
389-391 ; his famous ride 
at Horseneck, 391-393 ; 
prepares for new campaign, 
395; appears before Connec- 
ticut Assembly, 395 ; letter 
to Col. Wadsworth, 395, 
396 ; assigned to command 
of the right wing of army in 
Highlands, 396 ; his farewell 
order to troops at Redding, 
396 ; resists advance of the 
British up the Hudson, 398 ; 
headquarters at Buttermilk 
Falls, 398 ; visits home, 399; 
stricken with paralysis 
while on his way to rejoin 
the army, 400 ; taken back 
to Pom fret, 400 ; visited by 
Humphreys, 401 ; dictates a 
letter to Washington, 402 ; 
receives a reply, 403 ; visits 
the army at Tappan, 403 ; 
treasures a letter from 
Washington, 404, 405 ; en- 
tertains his guests with 
reminiscences of his experi- 
ences, 405 ; his favourite 
anecdotes, 406, 407 ; his let- 
ter to the Windham County 
Court, 407, 408 ; described 
by contemporaries, 408 ; 
visits his birthplace and 
Harvard College, 409 ; his 
declining years, 409, 410 ; 
attends religious services, 
410 ; receives another visit 
from Humphreys, 410, 411 ; 



440 



Index 



Putnam Israel — Continued. 

last illness, 411 ; death, 411 ; 

funeral, 411, 412 ; eulogies, 

412, 413; monument, 414 ; 

will, 415 ; swords and other 

relics, 415 ; statues, 415, 416; 

estimate of his character, 

417-419. 
Putnam, Israel, Jr., 8, 18, 19, 

160, 196, 223, 253, 263, 264, 

379. 383, 401, 409. 415 
Putnam, Israel Waldo, 52 
Putnam, John, 2, 55 
Putnam, John, Jr., 2 
Putnam, John P., 192 
Putnam, Joseph, 1-4, 56 
" Putnam's Ivcdge " or "Put's 

Rock," 57 
Putnam, Mar}', sister of Israel 

Putnam, 4 
Putnam, Mary, daughter of 

Israel Putnam, 19, 156, 401 
Putnam, Mehitable, sister of 

Israel Putnam, 4 
Putnam, Mehitable, daughter 

of Israel Putnam, 19, 156, 

193. 401 
Putnam, Nathaniel, 2 
Putnam, Col. Perley, 15, 405 
Putnam, Peter Schuyler, 148, 

156, 409, 415 
Putnam, Priscilla, 2 
Putnam, Rachel, 4 
Putnam, Rufus, 55-57, 60-64, 

67, 69, 79, 162, 163, 168-172, 

269, 278, 295, 321, 373, 374, 409 
Putnam, Judge Samuel, 15, 94, 

405, 406, 408, 409 
Putnam, Sarah, 4 
Putnam, Deacon Tarrant, 197 
Putnam, Thomas, 2, 55 
Putnam, Sergt. Thomas, 3 
Putnam, Ensign Timothy, 31 
Putnam, William, 4 
Puttenham, George, 2 

R 

Radiere, 370, 373 
Randolph, Peyton, 186 



Reed, Col. James, 223, 224, 

227, 237 
Reed, Adj. Gen. Joseph, 262, 

265, 2-0, 292, 294, 313, 315- 

317, 332-334, 336. 337. 339 
Remsen, Mr., 301, 302 
Revere, Paul, 192 
Richards, Ensign, 272 
Richardson, Colonel, 315 
Rivington, James, 36S, 388 
Robertson, Major-General, 368 
Rodgers, Rev. Dr. John, 164 
Rogers, Maj. Robert, 26-41, 

48, 49, 73, 76-78, 80, 87-89 
Runnels, Ezra, 228 
Russell, Seth, 208 



Saccapee, 100 

Sadler, Capt. John, 56 

St. Leger, Colonel, 346, 351 

Scarborough, Joseph, 160 

Schooner General Put?iam, 

277 
Schuyler, Col. Peter, 96-99, 

148 
Schuyler, Maj. -Gen. Philip, 

247', 266, 267, 278, 349, 351, 

358 
Scott, Brig.-Gen. John M., 

295, 306, 307, 379, 381 
Seaver, Elijah, 208 
SefTord, Captain, 61 
Sharp, John, 12 
Sharp, Thomas, 207 
Shepherd, W. R., 316 
Sherburne, Major, 276 
Sheriff, Colonel, 178, 288 
Sherman, Roger, 205 
Shewkirk, Rev. Mr., 279 
Shirley, Gov. William, 44, 50 
Silliman, Col. Gold Selleck, 

276, 305-307, 309 
Skene, Gov. Philip, 286 
Skinner, Cortlandt, 342 
Small, Maj. John, 167, 178, 

233, 234, 254 
Smith, John, 385, 386 



Index 



441 



Sparks, Jared, 302 

Spencer, Brig. -Gen. Joseph, 

196, 197, 247-249, 253, 277, 

289, 306, 307, 313, 317, 318 
Stark, Col. John, 28, 200, 221, 

223, 224, 227, 237, 352 
Stiles, Dr., 303 
Stirling, Lord. 275, 277, 278, 

285, 295, 298-302, 319, 323, 

326, 347, 348, 381 
Stockton, Maj. Richard, 342, 

343 
Storrs, L,ieut.-Col. Experience, 

245 
Sullivan, Brig. - Gen. John, 
247, 253, 273, 2S9, 294, 296, 
297, 299, 302-304, 319, 333, 

347-349 
Swett, Col. Samuel, 212, 218, 
219, 225, 229-231, 238 



Thacher, Dr. James, 284, 310, 

380, 382 
Thomas, Brig.-Gen. John, 247, 

253. 269 
Thompson, Charles Otis, 123, 

163 
Thompson, Col. Jabez, 310 
Tileston, Mr., 208 
Tilghman, Aide-de-camp, 316 
Todd, Charles B., 387 
Townshend, Charles, 173 
Tracy, Lieutenant, 96 
Tracy, Ruth Carter, 55 
Trepezec, 76, 77 
Trumbull, Benjamin, 121 
Trumbull, John, author of 

M' Fin gal, 205 
Trumbull, Col. John, painter 

of The Battle of Bunker 

Hill, 234, 237 
Trumbull, Gov. Jonathan, 193, 

354, 377, 390, 394 
Try on. Gov. William, 311, 

344, 366, 388-390, 349 
Tupper, Lieut. -Col. Benjamin, 

277 



Tyler, Daniel, Jr., 175, 177, 193 
Tyne, John, 207 



Van Schaick, Colonel, 360 
Vaudreuil, Marquis de, 97, 98, 

114 
Velasco, Don Luis de, 121 
Veren, Mrs. Mary, 2 
Veren, Nathaniel, 2 

W 

Wads worth, Col. Jeremiah, 

395, 400 
Wadsworth, Brig.-Gen. Peleg, 

295, 306, 309 
Waldo, Dr. Albigence, 246, 

413 

Waldo, Captain, 64 

Waldo, Sarah, 156 

Wall, Captain, 61 

Ward, Maj. Gen. Artemas,i95, 
197, 198, 204, 210, 212, 215, 
219-221, 223, 245, 247, 253, 
259, 271, 272 

Ward, J. Q. A., 415 

Warner, Colonel, 360, 362, 363 

Warren, Dr. Joseph, 177, 178, 
182, 198, 202, 204, 206, 207, 
210, 211, 225, 226, 236, 237, 
239, 240 

Warrups, Tom, 387, 388 

Washington, Gen. George, 192, 
246-249, 252, 256-259, 261, 
264, 267, 269, 270, 273, 277- 
281, 287, 292-294, 296, 297, 
301, 303, 304, 306-309. 312- 
330, 332-339, 341-349, 351- 
357, 359-385, 397-399, 402 
405 

Washington, Mrs. George, 
257, 287 

Wayne, Gen. Anthony, 398 

Webb, Gen. Daniel, 50, 61, 65- 
69 

Webb, Col. Samuel B., 249, 
253, 278, 347, 367 



442 



Index 



Webster, Daniel, 234 
West, Captain, 61 
Whitcomb, Gen. John, 217 
Whiting, Col. Nathan, 23, 116 
Whitney, Rev. Josiah, 148, 

161, 412, 413, 417 
Wiggles worth. Colonel, 374, 

375 
Wilcot, Esquire, 187 
Williams, Chaplain, 21 
Williams, Col. Ebenezer, 155, 

193, 194 
Williams, Col. Ephraim, 22, 

23 



Williams, Samuel, 158 

Winslow, Job, 274 

Winslow, Gen. John, 44, 50, 51 

Wolcott, Oliver, 331 

Wolfe, Gen. James, 102, 106, 

157. 3" 
Woodford, Brig.-Gen. William, 

379. 380 
Wooster, Maj.-Gen. David, 
196, 205, 247 



Young, Dr. Thomas, 178 





Heroes of the Nations. 



EDITED BY 



EVELYN ABBOTT, M.A., 
Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. 



A Series of biographical studies of the lives and work 
of a number of representative historical characters about 
whom have gathered the great traditions of the Nations 
to which they belonged, and who have been accepted, in 
many instances, as types of the several National ideals. 
With the life of each typical character will be presented 
a picture of the National conditions surrounding him 
during his career. 

The narratives are the work of writers who are recog- 
nized authorities on their several subjects, and, while 
thoroughly trustworthy as history, will present picturesque 
and dramatic "stories" of the Men and of the events con- 
nected with them. 

To the Life of each " Hero " will be given one dou- 
decimo volume, handsomely printed in large type, pro- 
vided with maps and adequately illustrated according to 
the special requirements of the several subjects. The 
volumes will be sold separately as follows: 



HEROES OF THE NATIONS. 

A series of biographical studies of the lives and work of 
certain representative historical characters, about whom have 
gathered the great traditions of the Nations to which they 
belonged, and who have been accepted, in many instances, as 
types of the several National ideals. 

The volumes will be sold separately as follows : cloth extra, 
$1.50 ; half leather, uncut edges, gilt top, $1.75. 

The following are now ready : 



NELSON. By W. Clark Russell. 
GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. By C. 

R. L. Fletcher. 
PERICLES. By Evelyn Abbott. 
THEODORIC THE GOTH. By 

Thomas Hodgkin. 
SIR PHILIP SIDNEY. By H. R. 

Fox-Bourne. 
JULIUS CiESAR. By W. Warde 

Fowler. 
WYCLIF. By Lewis Sergeant. 
NAPOLEON. By W. O'Connor Mor- 
ris. 
HENRY OF NAVARRE. By P. F. 

Willert. 
CICERO. By J. L. Strachan-David- 

son. 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By Noah 

Brooks. 
PRINCE HENRY (OF PORTUGAL) 

THE NAVIGATOR. By C. R. 

Beazley. 
JULIAN THE PHILOSOPHER. By 

Alice Gardner. 
LOUIS XIV. By Arthur Hassall. 
CHARLES XII. By R. Nisbet Bain. 
LORENZO DE" MEDICI. By Ed- 
ward Armstrong. 
JEANNE D'ARC. By Mrs. Oliphant. 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. By 

Washington Irving. 



ROBERT THE BRUCE. By Sir 
Herbert Maxwell. 

HANNIBAL. By W. O'Connor Mor- 
ris. 

ULYSSES S. GRANT. By William 
Conant Church. 

ROBERT E. LEE. By Henry Alex- 
ander White. 

THE CID CAMPEADOR. By H. 
Butler Clarke. 

SALADIN. By Stanley Lane-Poole. 

BISMARCK. By J. W. Headlam. 

ALEXANDER THE GREAT. By 
Benjamin I. Wheeler. 

CHARLEMAGNE. By H. W. C. 
Davis. 

OLIVER CROMWELL. By Charles 
Firth. 

RICHELIEU. By James B. Perkins. 

DANIEL O'CONNELL. By Robert 
Dunlop. 

SAINT LOUIS (Louis IX. of France). 
By Frederick Perry. 

LORD CHATHAM. By Walford 
Davis Green. 

OWEN GLYNDWR. By Arthur G. 
Bradley. $1.35 net. 

HENRY V. By Charles L. Kings- 
ford. $1.35 net. 

EDWARD I. By Edward Jenks. 
$1.35 net. 



Other volumes in preparation are : 



MOLTKE. By Spencer Wilkinson. 
JUDAS MACCABEUS. By Israel 

Abrahams. 
SOBIESKI. By F. A. Pollard. 
ALFRED THE TRUTHTELLER. 

By Frederick Perry. 
FREDERICK II. By A. L. Smith. 



By C. W. C. 



MARLBOROUGH. 

Oman. 
RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED. 

By T. A. Archer. 
WILLIAM THE SILENT. By Ruth 

Putnam. 



G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, Publishers, New York and London. 



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